One of those days

We didn’t sleep well last night. Bri woke me up at least 8 times. On top of that, I was scrambling to get my science fair projects graded today so I didn’t get a break at all. One minute before the bell was about to ring, sending my students back to me from lunch, I realized that I really had to go. Number two.

So I grabbed my toilet tissue (because we are so ghetto that we don’t have paper in the bathrooms – it disappears) and I ran down to the faculty bathroom. And let me spare you the details. We’ll just say that I felt like I was in labor again.

At that very moment, some little twerpy high schooler thought it would be a wonderful idea to pull the fire alarm. Yes, he did.

Needless to say, I was the last person out of the building.

It was one of those kind of days.

Hamera for the Camera

the PityParty incident

Last night we went out to dinner to celebrate the fact that I didn’t feel like cooking. We went to Logan’s and the parking lot was jam packed. I guess a lot of other people were celebrating too! Anyway, as we waited in the peanut-shell strewn lobby we bumped into a guy that a friend of mine dated when we were in medical school. Of course, I was thrilled to show off my baby girl in all her cuteness. He was very polite. We made small talk about his MD/PhD program and my new job as teacher. All the while, I had the distinct feeling that I was being pitied.

On a side note, I think that if the tables were turned I would probably pity someone in my shoes too. But that’s neither here nor there. I really LOVE my job and I don’t care if people pity me. It’s a waste of your time and energy though, just FYI.

Anyway, back to the story. So, the waitress called out our name and we followed her with our sleeping beauty in tow. And, of course, she sat us one table over from Mr. PityParty. Wonderful.

We ordered in half-whispers, hoping against hope that there would be no teary sobs accompanying our dinner. For some reason I’m self-conscious about her crying around aquaintances. I’m fine in front of strangers and close friends. But not the middle people.

Bri slept fabulously. And then our food came. It seemed like she opened one eye as the plate was hovering in the air above the table and opened the other as soon as it touched down. No sooner had I picked up my fork, than she started wailing.

So I did what any good young Mommy does. I fumbled over her carseat buckles, sweating like a pig. And then I yanked gently pulled her to me and patted her back. She calmed down and I nervously glanced over my shoulder to see if Mr. PityParty was gaping at us open mouthed.

I shifted her from one arm to the other and as I did I watched in horrifying slow motion as her tiny little hand went kerplunk into my side tub of ranch dressing. And then the tub toppled off the table covering both of us in white ranch dressing.

Apparently I was the only one who saw this occur. And, to everyone else’s credit, I must admit that when you see a young mom covered in white goop and holding a baby you just don’t automatically think, ‘Oh the klutzy baby must have spilled ranch dressing everywhere.’

A waitress appeared out of nowhere with a wet rag but she stood there hesitating to clean up what I can only imagine she perceived as spit-up. I was dripping and staring at her. She held the rag, inches above the table staring at Bri. And Hubbsy didn’t know what to do so he dove into the mess with his napkin, all the while apologizing profusely as he wiped the table. It took forever for people to actually start cleaning up the baby and me.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that when the cold slimy dressing landed on Bri she immediately resumed her wailing. And kept it up as we dashed for the door and changed her diaper and clothes in the parking lot.

So in the midst of all this chaos, as we were ducking and running towards the door, my Hubby leaned in towards me and said, “I feel so bad leaving all the mess on the floor.” Yes, he did say that out loud (He has no clue what’s coming in a few months, I know…) and yes, we were crunching the peanut shells beneath our shoes the whole time while sprinting away from the scene of the crime.

“Don’t worry, honey,” I called over my shoulder as I burst through the door, “this will make great fodder for my blog!”

And I have a feeling that there will probably be lots more where that came from.

Lactic acid

Funny story…

Today one of my students tried to explain to me what lactating means. I had so many witty but highly inappropriate responses filling my head that I had to just nod along. Inside, though, I REALLY wanted to say, “And what do you think I’ve been doing for the last ten weeks? Huh?“

100 things about me

It’s a tradition in Bloggyland to write one hundred things about yourself for your hundredth post. So if you’re patient enough to read all of this then here it is for your perusal. It’s been a challenge putting it together.

1. As an adult I love to take super scalding hot showers until my skin turns red like a lobster and I get all pruny.
2. When I was a kid I was afraid of taking really hot showers after reading a Goosebumps book where a girl boiled to death because a green ball of ooze turned the locker room shower up too high. (I know I was pretty gullible).
3. I am a science nerd. I think that meiosis and mitosis are pretty cool.
4. I dropped out of medical school half way to becoming a doctor.
5. Now I teach science to high-schoolers (and it’s way more fun than being cooped up in the hospital all day).
6. I like to narrate things in my head.
7. Sometimes my husband and I will play a game where we narrate what the other person said.
For example:
me: “I need you to go to the store today.”
hubby: “she demanded.”
me: “Um, well we really need to get more toilet paper today!”
hubby: “she proclaimed.”
me: “Seriously, will you please go to the store?”
hubby: “she whined.”
8. I’m married to a youngest child. He likes to act like my little brother sometimes.
9. I always wanted a brother growing up. And then I got married. Just kidding honey!
10. I’m super competitive at board games. It’s a family thing. If I can’t win then I don’t want to play.
11. I hate Yahtzee. (I can’t win).
12. I love Anne of Green Gables. I wanted to name my daughter Blythe, like Gilbert Blythe.
13. Dishes that won’t go in the dishwasher are just clutter around here, so I don’t buy them. All of my fine china goes through the dishwasher.
14. Over a decade has passed since that pimply transition called puberty and I still have trouble with acne. It’s no longer a daily struggle (Thank you Jesus!) but I have at least one pimple per week.
15. I live in a constant state of dehydration. People are always telling me to drink more water.
16. A few years before we were married, the Hubs and I went on a trip (with a group) to China. The food was amazing and I still crave it sometimes. We were shocked to see how openly affectionate people were while we were there. It was very common to see groups of three or four (straight) guys walking down the street holding hands or hanging on to each other.
17. I would rather go barefoot and have cold feet than wear socks to bed.
18. I like to pick my nose with Q-tips. Seriously. It’s a daily ritual.
19. Making up recipes is super fun. I’m working on a recipe for Baked Potatoe Casserole. (Chunks of potato and bits of ham with a Ritz cracker and sharp cheddar cheese crust).
20. HTML code is like Greek to me. I have to cheat to use it.
21. I listen to the radio in my car. Not satellite radio. Maybe a CD if I’m desperate and nothing good is on the air. But I really like the old-fashioned radio.
22. Country music used to be the worst thing on the planet but somehow either I’ve changed or it’s changed, because I have five country stations preset in my car now.
23. This one may shock you. I hate watching TV. The only things I will willingly watch are HGTV and a limited number of sitcoms. If I’m watching TV it’s usually because Hubby has the remote.
24. People have asked me if I used to be a cheerleader. I have never in my life been limber enough to cheer. The highlight of my flexibility was when I could touch my shoelaces without bending my knees as a freshman in college.
25. We play the movie quotes game a lot. One person says a quote from a movie and everyone tries to guess what movie it came from. The winner gets to think of the next quote. Lots of fun!
26. We love our church and more specifically our Sunday school class. The first week that we visited I told my Hubster that I felt at home there because “all the other wives interrupt their husbands too!”
27. Random things have been disappearing around our house. We’ve lost kitchen shears, a tube of lotion, bottles, and the pizza cutter.
28. My refrigerator is covered with pictures that I’ve glued to magnets. And I have spare ugly magnets on the side of the fridge waiting for pictures to be glued to them.
29. Two years ago Hubby and I went to Hollywood to celebrate our anniversary. We toured several film studio sets and I love to point out places we’ve seen when we see them again in the movies or on TV.
30. I am a total germaphobe. I carry hand sanitizer with me at all times and usually I have two different kinds.
31. I’ve developed the nickname “Monk.”
32. Once when I was pregnant and the cashier at the grocery store was disgustingly sick, I made my Hubby spray every single item with Lysol before he put it away.
33. My parents let me quit softball after I sat down in right field as a little girl to make daisy chains during a game.
34. I strongly dislike any kind of orange cracker, Bugles and Frito’s.
35. When I was a seventh grader I played a very important role in The Wizard of Oz at our community theater. I was the door opener to the wizard’s palace in Emerald City. I got to slam the peephole door in Dorothy’s face!
36. In high school I was the co-captain of the flag line my senior year. Sometimes I like to write flag routines to the worship songs in my mind during church services. I would love to start a flag worship group! Actually I think I would be too embarrassed to ever suggest it in public.
37. I loved dancing as a little girl. I took ballet, jazz and tap. And I took ballroom dancing for several years in high school.
38. I always wished that I could have chestnut brown hair like my best friend in middle school.
39. Up until the time that I was married I slept with a variety of stuffed animals.
40. I currently coach the flag line now at the high school where I teach. My students were shocked and amazed that I could still twirl the flag (especially considering the fact that last summer my pregnant belly stuck out pretty far while I was twirling). I was really proud of myself for choreographing one of the five routines they performed last season.
41. I used to have a red mole punctuating my bikini line. When Bri was born one of the surgeons offered to remove it as part of the C-section. Surprisingly enough, I don’t think they ever sent us a bill for it either.
42. I used to have a horse named Pepper.
43. She foaled on St. Patrick’s day and we named the baby Peppermint Patty.
44. As a child I could catch butterflies with my bare hands.
45. I had a collection of butterflies that I’d pinned and named with my Dad’s help.
46. I tend to take people’s pens by accident. It’s the only kleptomanic habit that I have.
47. When I read novels I get totally absorbed and usually miss everything that’s going on around me.
48. I’m a speed reader and I usually finish the average sized novel in 6 hours or less.
49. This frustrates my Hubby who is not a speed reader.
50. I love to paint but I am terrible about starting paintings that I never finish.
51. My dream house would have a balcony off the master bedroom and a huge garden tub with jacuzzi jets in the master bath. And a window seat in the kitchen. And a studio with big windows where I could paint.
52. I tend to jump from one idea to the next.
53. It’s hard to keep my thoughts on one central theme when I blog.
54. I won an Invention Fair when I was in elementary school and got honorable mention in my district.
55. My invention was soft rubber pads to go on the monkey bars at school to keep kids from getting calluses.
56. My dad and his friend who was a chemist, helped me make molds to pour the rubber into for our model.
57. We called them Monkey Grips.
58. I had “magic” earrings that helped me run faster on the playground in elementary school so that I could catch the boys.
59. One time I actually caught a boy. I didn’t know what to do so I kissed him!
60. Sleep is a very precious thing to me and always has been.
61. I remember asking my Mom if I could go to bed when I was little.
62. Nowadays I am not a happy camper with less than 7 hours of sleep and if left to my own devices, I’ll sleep 9-10 hours every day.
63. I really want to teach Anatomy and Physiology one day.
64. I love teaching Biology, though.
65. I wear a size ten shoe. I have ginormous feet.
66. When I was a little girl my cousins loved to make fun of my huge feet.
67. Because of this, I went through a phase where my favorite Bible verse was “How beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news.”
68. When I buy the pointy toed shoes I have to buy a size 11 to keep my feet from turning pointy too.
69. I’m very picky about pictures and therefore rarely find myself on the other side of the camera.
70. I cannot sleep in a quiet room. I need some kind of white noise.
71. I have to be absolutely exhausted to sleep while the TV is on.
72. Once I fall asleep I am normally a heavy sleeper (although that seemed to change when the baby came).
73. As a highschooler, apparently I slept through a whole scene involving a close friend getting herself locked into the bathroom and a Mexican janitor named Elvis picking the lock to let her out while the other girls in our group stood around our hotel room laughing.
74. My sister bought me a plastic turqouise backpack for Christmas one year when I was in middle school. I proudly wore it until the strap broke. After that I got my first name-brand bookbag, a Jansport.
75. Back then the big name brands to have were Nike tennis shoes, Timberland boots, Gap clothes and Jansport bookbags. Or LL Bean bookbags. With a monogram on them.
76. My first car was a red ’87 Chevrolet Nova hatchback. It was not the fast kind. It was the 4 cylinder kind that barely made it up the hills in our neighborhood.
77. My second car was my baby. It was a shiny red Jeep Cherokee and I loved it to pieces.
78. My Daddy surprised me with it when I graduated from high school. It was the best surprise ever!!
79. When I got married my mom let me choose between a silver car or a new bedroom suit for my wedding present. I really wanted to take the bedroom suit.
80. My Hubby talked sense into me and convinced me to take the new car instead.
81. I still miss my Jeep.
82. I think I’ve only ever truly been surprised twice in my life. Most of the time I figured out that the surprise was coming first.
83. I eat some form of mild cheddar cheese every day. Usually in slices as a snack.
84. When I eat BBQ I always want the white vinegar style pulled pork. The best kinds are usually in tiny cylinder brick buildings located in the middle of nowhere.
85. For some reason I assosciate good BBQ with football. I can still taste the victory of a few special games.
86. I have a weakness for serving bowls in my kitchen. I love to buy them but don’t use them very much.
87. My favorite salad dressing is Catalina.
88. I love to wrap gifts and tie them with ribbon. It looks so much prettier.
89. As a result, I have a pile of gift bags that I never seem to reuse.
90. It bothers me when strangers come stick their hands in my baby’s infant carrier. And so I tend to get antsy whenever strangers ask about her.
91. Having a baby is like carrying a neon sign that says, “Please, talk to me!”
92. Being pregnant was like wearing a sign that said, “Tell me every horrific story you’ve ever heard about children and/or labor.”
93. My dog likes my Hubby more than me.
94. That’s probably because I’m the rule enforcer around here.
95. And he feeds her.
96. For the last ten years my favorite band has been Caedmon’s Call.
97. I’m also a big fan of Nicole Nordeman.
98. About four years ago I became a country music fan. My family hates country music so I guess it was my way of rebelling. My favorites are Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.
99. I’m big on proof-reading and editing. I’ll probably edit this post lots of times.
100. I forgot what I was going to say here.

First Day … A Big Milestone

Today was Bri’s first day in daycare. My fabulous Hubster actually took her in about an hour after I went to work. He said that leaving her there was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. I can imagine. Secretly I was very grateful that I didn’t have to make the teary eyed journey from the parking lot of the day care back to work.

During my planning period I slipped away and saw her. I was pleasantly surprised to find her happily swinging. I guess that I’d expected her to be screaming for me. She gave me lots of hugs and big girl smiles. And then I went back to work again.

My students were very well behaved, surprisingly. It was sort of like the first day of school when everyone wants to make a good impression. But I was still very excited on my way to pick up Bri. I know I’ll look forward to seeing her now and treasure that time so much more.

All in all it was a pretty good day.

Sunday Ponderings

Today instead of a sermon, the pastor at our church showed video testimonials of people who had experienced a medical miracle in the last year. It was really inspiring to hear their stories and see the faith that they had in God’s power. The one that stood out in my opinion, was the young mom with cystic fibrosis who had to have a lung transplant. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for her, knowing that she will almost certainly die before her son goes to college. Lung transplants just don’t last very long. And yet she seemed so strong and courageous. She wasn’t bitter or emotional. She was just grateful for the time that the Lord has given her.

It probably meant so much to me because tomorrow will be Bri’s first day at daycare as I head back to work. I’ve been focusing on how hard it will be and basically worrying myself sick. But after listening to her story I feel really blessed. I’m healthy enough to work. And I will have lots of time with my little girl every day. I really do love my job as a teacher, even though I’ve come to realize that the job of motherhood trumps almost everything else. When we were singing Mighty to Save this morning, I was praying that God would help me overcome the mountain of going back to work. “Savior, He can move the mountains, My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save.”

Favorite Glimpses of Thanksgiving

Here are a few of my best photos from the festivities this week.

Guess who the bottle belongs to?

This is my Grandad.

Cousin cutie!!

Hungry pilgrims…

Baby Bri all smiles in her Christmas dress.

Black Friday

Today my mom and I are wading through the crowds of people getting lots of fabulous deals with the baby. Bri has been a champ! Right now we’re refueling with turkey sandwiches before we head back out.

thankful list: Thanksgiving Day edition

Because I may be unable to blog from my Thanksgiving destination, I’m posting this early so that I won’t have to drop out of NaBloPoMo. Thanks for understanding!

Today I am especially thankful for these things …

44. family~ especially surprise visits from far far away
45. that we live close to most of our relatives
46. our healthy beautiful daughter that I get to dress up and photograph and embarrass for the rest of her days (not on purpose, though)… it is so fun to be a parent!
47. broccoli and cheese … yum!
48. a very patient and extremely handsome husband
49. Japanese Hibachi fast food … one of the best parts of every trip home
50. traditions
51. the freedom we have as citizens of this country
52. that brave officers are protecting us while we celebrate
53. less than ONE day until Black Friday ~ this will be Bri’s first DAT shopping experience ~ this is one of those family traditions I mentioned
54. drop-in liners … mylicon drops … and infant tylenol drops
55. our church family ~ i need to devote a whole post to how awesome they are
56. my Savior Jesus Christ who forgives me despite my hypocrisy and evil tendancies
57. and … for all of the lovely changes that have occurred in our lives over the past 365 days ~ new jobs, new house, new baby, new friends, and lots of love from all of you!!!