Doing it all... or not.

Le sigh...

It would appear that, despite my best efforts, I am not a superhero. Dammit. While this may be old news to some of you, it's a bit of a shock to me. While I was still pregnant with Cohen I thought I had it all figured out - I came up with a cleaning plan that would allow me to do a little each day {a new concept for me} to keep the house spiffy without having to dedicate an entire day to cleaning on the weekends. It made sense, especially with a toddler, to spread out the cleaning love throughout the week. In my pregnant brain I also believed it would be a piece of cake {mmmm.... cake....} to continue once the bebe arrived. I mean, newborns sleep ALL. THE. TIME. right??

{Yes, in just two and a half short years, I forgot what having a newborn is like...}

So, for the first few weeks, I did it. Mind you, I had my parents or Derek here the whole time so Cohen was always being fed, snuggled, changed, and entertained even if it wasn't by yours truly. Then my parents flew away to Arizona and Derek trudged off to work and I found myself home alone, trying to entertain a new baby. Let me tell you, my plan failed. I don't have enough energy time to clean a specific area of the house each day. Honestly, I'm feeling pretty bad-ass for simply making the rounds and continuing the 'quick pick up' routine that accompanied my cleaning schedule. But clean-cleaning each day... it ain't gonna happen. Basically it came down to this - I have enough time and energy to either get my workout in OR clean my house each day - but not both. I made the decision last night to put myself ahead of my housework and spend my energy taking care of baby and trying to get back into shape {with the nagging hope that getting back into shape will equal more energy which will then equal getting my housework done... but we'll see}.

The original plan...

Monday: Clean master bedroom and bathroom {dust, vacuum, change sheets/towels, clean shower, etc}
Tuesday: Clean kids rooms and extra bathroom {dust, vacuum, change sheets/towels, clean tub, etc}
Wednesday: Clean dining room & deck {dust, vacuum, clean windows, sweep deck}
Thursday: Clean kitchen
Friday: Clean living room, entry, and laundry room
Weekend: Wash clothes and do yard work

Quick pick up: Each night - wipe counter tops in kitchen & bathrooms, swiffer kitchen floor, laundry {as needed}, put away toys, filing, etc. 

Maybe you can see why it's not working when I have someone who is either needing to be cuddled {NOT complaining}, changed {complaining a little} or fed. So, I'm making a change... here is the new, modified, mommy-of-two plan...

Every day: Quick pick up {wipe counter tops in kitchen & bathrooms, swiffer kitchen floor, laundry & vacuuming {as needed}, put away toys, filing, etc.}


1st & 3rd weekend of each month - Clean bedrooms and bathrooms
2nd & 4th weekend of each month - Clean dining, kitchen, and living rooms

I feel like if I keep up on the daily routine that I can spread out the deep cleaning to every other week instead of every week. I have no idea when I will cram yard work in or how this will work with Addison home on the weekends but at least I'll have Derek around for help wrangling the little people in our lives.

So... there you have it. I'm not a super hero. I guess I'm okay with that. But if you stop by for a visit and my house isn't clean - no judging. If you want to see a clean house, schedule it according to the plan above. =]

{And, just for fun... Cohen has been conked out in his swing for the last 90 minutes which has allowed me to shower, pick up, blog, AND talk to my bestest friend for a bit... see, I used my down time wisely...} 

i carry your heart [i carry it in my heart]

For my daughter... I love you Addison... more than life.

 

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)

i am never without it

(anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling) 

i fear no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet)

i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

 

e.e. cummings

Springtime in the garden of good and..... a toddler.

Overdue...

So, at three am this morning I got a text message from the babysitter. There was serious vomiting going on at her house and she wanted to give me the chance to opt out of bring Addison to Pukesville. I texted two of the people on our "babysitter back up" list, but neither one was available. Derek has a crazy week at work this week so it was my turn to take a sick day... so I called out around 5:30 and sent in my sub plans.

Addison woke up around 8ish and we had some breakfast and realized that we were looking at, quite possibly, the one beautiful day this week. So, we loaded up the stroller, harnessed in the canine, and headed out for a walk at 9:15. We went allllll around the neighborhood, up into the new sections and ended up at the park playing on the toys. Our neighbors were there too so Addison got to play with some kids her age and feed Skyla crackers that were supposed to be for the kids. :) Around 11, we headed home and she went down for a nap while I did some yard work and got my shower. We spent the afternoon running errands in town and got home just in time to make dinner, get a bath, and head for bed...

As I was dancing her around the kitchen after lunch today I realized it has been forever since I have had a day where it was just Addison and I - no one else to steal her attention or entertain her. And I missed it. We were whirling around to Casper Babypants (if you haven't discovered yet, you MUST) and she was hugging my neck and squealing as we danced.

It was hands down the best moment I have had in recent history.

I now understand toddler tantrums.

I have been overspending [that is the understatement of the century]. So, I turned over my cards to Derek until I can get my finances under control. I still pay all my bills online but I no longer carry a debit card for my main account. Money for gas, groceries, and spending [yes, I get a little allowance] goes to my credit union where I still have a debit card. That's it. No checkbook, no credit cards, no cash, nada. I agreed to it, I WANTED it, and I know it's for the best but at the time of year when I want to be buying gifts for everyone I love - it SUCKS.

We went to the mall while we were in Vancouver [my bright idea, like an alcoholic going into a bar to 'hang out']. I actually cannot remember the last time I went to a mall and didn't buy SOMETHING - I walked by Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Gymboree, Macy's, Pumpkin Patch, COACH, Buckle, all my favorite stores and I couldn't buy ANYTHING. Derek bought a few outfits for Addison for Christmas but I walked out with NOTHING. I seriously, honestly, truly wanted to through myself down on the floor, kick my feet and scream as we walked out of the mall through Sephora. It was physically painful. I hated it.

It's bad when it affects you THAT badly to not get to buy things you don't need... :/

Lazy day at home...

Well... not so lazy, but it was a day off from work which was nice. We took the kitty to the vet for her pokes of the year [which she has not yet forgiven me for], bought our Thanksgiving groceries, and then came home in the -7 degree weather. Addison took a nap so I worked on shoveling the driveway... which didn't end up working out so well. Turns out when snow sits on concrete for two days in sub-zero temps, it turns to ice. So I hacked away at the driveway and sidewalk but gave up about 3/4 of the way through. When you are sweating in sub-zero temperatures, you're working too hard. Before Addison woke up I got the turkey in the fridge to brine [and only spilled once between the counter and the fridge], and roasted some squash for dinner tonight [butternut squash soup]. I vlogged [see post below] and since then have been trying to entertain a crabby patty cakes [aka - Addison]. She has a new tooth poking through on the bottom and she is TONS of fun in the afternoons right now. She played in the dog carrier, Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa in Arizona, played in her chair, unloaded and reorganized my Tupperware, and ate all my goldfish crackers. I had good intentions of doing homework today but I didn't even get to touch it :( Maybe on Friday...

{Just in case you thought I was exaggerating about the temperature today...}

My stomach gets queasy and my heart starts to race...

whenever I get near my car. It's not even a rational fear - I know that the accident wasn't my car's fault, it didn't malfunction, no one was hurt, and it's [supposedly] as good as new. I get that. Everyone keeps telling me that. I'm not dumb, I really do understand.

What I don't understand is the fear. The gut-wrenching, nauseating, cold-sweat fear that wells up in my every time I look at it. The shakes I get when I hold the key, how I jump out of my skin at sudden noises, the horrid, helpless, terrifying nightmares that leave me thinking I've lost my child in some unspeakable accident. That's what I don't understand.

At 7:30 am on October 7th I was just leaving the drop off spot for daycare. Addison was safely nestled in her car seat in Cheryl's car, and I was decked out in pink and ready for our Breast Cancer Awareness day in the ZSD. I decided since it was a short week that I should have a coffee to celebrate and I headed into town to the Fuel Yard since I had a gift card left over from my birthday. The drive from the daycare drop to the coffee shop is a mile at best and is right in the heart of Zillah. I slowed down to turn right into the driveway, put on my blinker, and started the turn... I remember that I was contemplating whether or not I should 'go for it' and get a 20oz. coffee or if I should just stick with my usual 16oz. As I was mid-turn, I was slammed into from the side. I remember thinking, "I'm getting in an accident. This can't be happening." and "Where in the hell did this car come from?" The whole accident probably lasted less than 10 seconds from impact to my car rolling to a stop but it felt like an eternity in slow motion. I saw the hood of a white car, crumpled up outside my passenger window, I saw the glass from that window raining down around me, I heard the awful sound of metal giving way to metal and the constant blaring of the other car's horn. I remember coming to and seeing my jeans and realizing that my car was rolling forward and I wasn't in control. I slammed the brake and put the car in park before it rolled into the weeds behind the coffee shop. People were yelling and running and calling 9-1-1. My first coherent thought was that it was so strange that my radio was still playing and Michael Buble was singing along like nothing had happened. I turned off the CD player. I managed to open my car door and tell one of the witnesses that I was okay, I wasn't hurt. I crawled back to the other car and saw a young girl, a high schooler, in hysterics behind the wheel. She was screaming and her airbag had gone off. I sat on the ground and started crying - I think that was when reality finally sank in for me. I was a mix of emotions - thankful that I was walking away, thankful that Addison wasn't with me, terrified of what had happened to my car, furious that I had been hit in the first place, and in pain. My neck, my shoulders, my back all started to ache. My head had a bump on it from where it hit the side window and my hip hurt from where the buckle had yanked on me... but I was okay. I was alive. Once I knew that the other girl was okay, I made my way back to my car and called Derek. I didn't want him to get a call from the school or the paramedics. I told him I had been in a wreck and that I thought my car was totaled. He asked where Addison was and I started bawling. The impact had been on her side. ALL of the impact had been on her side. I looked back and saw broken glass in her car seat and I lost it. The idea that she could have been sitting right there, getting slammed into at 35+ miles an hour, and that I could have done nothing to prevent it, killed me. I got distracted by the paramedics and the ride to the hospital. Derek was there waiting for me and was by my side until I was discharged. I was banged up and destined to be sore, but otherwise okay. The rest of the day passed in a blur - insurance calls, rental cars, doctor's appointments... I thought that things were going to be okay and that the worst was past me.

Then, a few days later, I called to get a tow-truck to pick up the CR-V and take it to the body shop. I went out to my in-laws house to pull it out of the garage and that is when it hit me. I got in the car with the shattered glass and pieces sticking out everywhere and I was right back there at the accident. I was dizzy, shaking, and on the verge of tears.

Now it's six weeks later and my CR-V is once again parked in the garage. The closer I got to this moment the worse things got - I've been having anxiety attacks, I have nightmares about something happening to Addison or something happening to me and I'm unable to help her. I want nothing to do with my car - every time I look at it, I see the accident, I see what could have been. I don't want Addison in that car - I want her in a tank. I want something big, high off the ground... something that will fight back if it gets hit. All I want is to feel safe again in my own car. I want to feel like I am in control again... not like reality is spinning out of control and that every car on the road is going to run a red light, or sideswipe me, or plow into me when I go to make a right turn. I just don't want to be scared anymore.

Big badaboom...

I was in a car accident today. I feel like I need to write it all down while it's fresh in my mind and before my pain medicine kicks in for the night...

I dropped Addison off with Cheryl and made a last minute decision to go get coffee, since today was our last day of the work week. I was headed toward town on First Avenue (driving East) and went to make a right turn into the coffee shop driveway. I was almost completely turned when out of nowhere, the car that was behind me slams into my passenger side door. I don't remember hearing a horn or tires screeching, it's like one minute I was trying to decide whether I wanted a 16oz or a 20oz, and the next there is glass flying everywhere, a horn blaring in the background, and the vague notion that my car is rolling down a hill. I hit my brakes and put my car in park and things started to sink in. I checked myself over, realized my neck was sore and my head hurt where I thumped it on the drivers side window but didn't find any blood. Someone ran up to my car and asked if I needed an ambulance and I told her no. She ran back to the other car and I tried to get out to go make sure the other driver was okay. The other car was totally smashed up, the airbag had deployed, and a high schooler was behind the wheel. Her airbag had deployed and she was super shaken up too. Once I knew that she wasn't injured too badly, I went back to my car to call Derek and the middle school. The medics came to check us out and since I was having head and neck pain, they strapped me to a backboard with a neck brace and took me to the hospital. I had a CAT scan done and saw a doctor and was released after my scan came back negative. After that, there were a lot of phone calls to make, a rental car to be found, pain meds to pick up, and finally, a nap to be had. It was awful, scary, and I'm mortified for my car but I am just so incredibly thankful that I didn't have Addison in the car with me - I had dropped her off just a few minutes before and the other car hit me square on the passenger side. I can't imagine what I would be writing about right now if she had been in the car...

I don't understand how the other driver didn't see me - that's the question that everyone has been asking and I honestly don't have an answer for that. I didn't get to talk to her and the officer who called didn't say what happened, just that she was being issued a citation for 'failure to yield'. All I know is that one second everything was fine, and the next it was all falling glass and blaring horns. I'm just thankful that we both walked away with no serious injuries and that Addison wasn't with me for my coffee stop that morning...

Now, I'm off to bed to rest before the real pain and soreness sets in tomorrow - thank you to the guardian angel who was looking out for me this morning...

::ten bonus points if you know what movie the blog title comes from::

Yes, I'm still alive...

just CRAZY busy trying to manage mid-term project, back to school, and loads of mini-vacations... I promise an update come Monday, but I have a weekend of relaxing ahead of me...

9/11 in July...

No, I'm not referring to THAT 9/11... I'm referring to my 9/11, my birthday. I told Derek a while back that I really wanted to go to a concert at the Gorge again - I have only been twice and not since college and it is such a beautiful place to see a live performance. (If you have no idea what or where the Gorge is, go here... then be jealous that it's only a hour from my house =]) Anyway, Derek gave me two choices for concerts for my birthday present - Dave Mathews Band or Kings of Leon. Now, had it been between ANY other two choices, I would have picked DMB, no doubt in my mind, but I have been dying to see KOL and this was my chance!! So, he booked tickets as close as we could get - row 17, which was just about perfect.

Saturday morning Derek came in and asked if I wanted to make a day of our outing and go see a movie in Ellensburg and go get Pita Pit (my FAVORITE lunch spot) and of course I said yes... This was the first time I'd be away from Addison overnight (gulp!) but since we didn't expect to be home until after 1am, it was easier for her to go stay with Derek's parents. We dropped her off around 11am, said our goodbye's (mine tearfully), and then headed north. The movie theater wasn't open when we got there so to kill 20 minutes, we wandered around Bi-Mart (oh the joys) and bought some random things for the house (and a polka dotted lunch box for me!). We had decided to see Inception and it was so worth it! I really liked it, even though I was super confused for the first ten minutes or so... but it ended up being a great movie. After the movie we had lunch at the Pit and then headed for the Gorge.

The weather was perfect for a concert - sunny, about 90 degrees, and enough wind to keep you from over-heating.

I think that buying drinks at concerts rivals Las Vegas as far as price is concerned but I did get a very tasty margarita in a fancy schmancy guitar glass... and it was HUGE. Don't worry - I drank the whole thing so it was worth the money ;)

Me and my trusty drink in front of the stage...

The place was packed... and as is the case with any concert we saw all sorts of interesting things... a whole group of guys dressed in neon green and black spandex wrapped in Canadian flags, freaks and geeks of every make and model, the fake boobs on the girl behind us when she pulled them out to let some guys snap a picture, more tattoos than I can count, someone getting dragged out by four security guards, and loads of other fun stuff... See that guy in the plaid shirt in the picture below... he was paying the girls in front of him to flash him... good time. :)

The view from our seats during the first two performances. The opening acts were The Features and Built to Spill. They were alright but they were nothing compared to KOL!

Kings of Leon on stage!!!!

(All of my pics were taken with my phone, so sorry that they aren't the best quality. I recorded a couple of video clips too, but they sound pretty awful with everyone screaming. Here is a video from YouTube of one of my favorite songs of the night...)

I had so much fun last night and I am so thankful that we got to do something special and fun for my birthday this year... last year was a bugger because I was in Labor and Delivery on my birthday and it wasn't a very fun party. I'm not gonna lie though... getting up this morning and getting over to pick Addison up was the highlight - I missed her so much! I even slept with one of her stuffed animals so I could smell her all night. This was the first time that I have gone to sleep without holding her and cuddling her since she was born and it was tough. However, we all survived and it showed me that I can leave her overnight without exploding or having a meltdown. That being said, I rocked her to sleep tonight and breathed in that sweet baby shampoo scent and loved every second of it... going out once in a while is fun - but every thing I want and love is right here at home. =]

Team Switzerland

Did I drag my butt out of the house for the midnight premiere of Eclipse? HELL YES I DID!
=]

This is the third year that I have picked up a group of students, headed for lower valley in the middle of the night, and spent hours soaking up the saga that is Twilight. I loved it, I thought it was the best one so far - the acting and special effects were so much better than in the first two. I hate the running scenes in the first movie because they look so fake but now it looks much more believable. The mood was darker and scarier, which was awesome, and all of the important parts of the book were there in the movie.

Was the movie as good as the book? No, they never are. Will I be going to see it again and buying it on Blu-Ray when it comes out? Yes, I will.

Am I Team Edward or Team Jacob? Neither - Team Switzerland works for me.

Have I told you lately...

... how much I love my daughter?? I've been a stay at home mom for a week now (go ahead, laugh) and I wish I could do it forever. I love playing all day, getting to see all Addison's silly moments, and feeling more like a MOM. When I'm working all the time, I feel like I come home, make dinner, feed Addison, do our bedtime routine, and then it's homework and bedtime for me. Having these days together means the world to me and I want the next two months to go by SO SLOWLY ::did you hear that universe, SLOW DOWN::

Tomorrow Addison and I leave for a week to stay with my parents at the beach... pray for good weather, safe driving, and good sales. Poor Derek has to stay home and go to work while we go and play :( but this is the last time I'll see my parents this summer as they're off to Europe for the summer.

Addison is wearing her "Twinkle Toes" shirt that we got at Old Navy - my dad uses that nickname ALL the time when he can't remember someone's name... I think it's so cute!!

ISO a BFF

I am an only child. Up until a few years ago, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I had the undivided attention of my parents and got to go places and do things that most of my multi-sibling friends didn't get to do. I loved being the only one. Now, I'm older (some might say wiser but it's still up for debate) and I understand what I missed out on. Having a sibling would permit me one person in my life, near my own age, who was always there. I get that siblings don't always get along and sometimes they don't even like each other, but at least they have that option...

Let me start at the beginning...

Growing up on the outskirts of Marysville, I was surrounded by boys. My neighbor, Matt, and I were practically raised together. Our parents were all friends and we spent endless weekends camping and hiking with them. Matt let me tag along with the boys, he taught me to climb trees, build forts in the blackberry bushes, catch tadpoles (and release them in a neighbors pond... NOT a good idea), and do all the 'tom-boy' things I loved as a kid. We learned to shoot guns together, chased each other around the campfire, and were pals for my entire childhood.

Then came middle school... suddenly, it became taboo to be friends with a boy if you weren't going to call him your 'boyfriend'. Since Matt and I were practically siblings and that would have been a tad bit incestual, we went our separate ways, only talking at the bus stop. Fortunately, around this time, I met Becca. We took horseback riding lessons together and pretty soon were inseparable. I mean that. She went to a different school but every second that we weren't in school we were together at the barn or at one of our houses. That continued through high school and although we lost touch when I went to college, she was still the maid of honor in our wedding and someone that I still count as a friend, even though we almost never get to see each other.

High school. Ugh. I lived on the fringes of the in-crowd... I didn't do sports or any trendy activities - I rode horses and that was not on the acceptable list of things to do. I was however, friends with some of the 'cool kids' and they kept me around although I was never really included in anything... Looking back, I really hated high school. I did find one amazing friend in my three years at MPHS - Lisa. We met in some random math class and pretty soon we were carpooling to school and holding up signs for a car show in our bikinis on the side of State Street (which made the news, mind you). I took her to the doctor when she thought she was pregnant (which ended up being correct) and we taught swimming lessons together to the SPED kids in our district. But again, I left and went to college and we lost touch. Lisa was a bridesmaid in our wedding and her daughter was our flower girl and I love her and her adorable family to death... but I can't remember the last time I saw her in person.... :(

I met Derek right off the bat in college, and per my M.O. I built my life around him. We spent every waking moment together and I didn't really have time to make a lot of friends. Those that I did make ended up either a) moving away or b) becoming psychopathic stalkers (okay, only one of those). We moved to Yakima right after we got married and soon after I started attending CWU to get my teaching certificate. I slowly got absorbed into a group of girls that I really got along with and became close with one who I would say, for a time, was my best friend. Things in that group went to hell in a handbag and we've lost touch, to say the least. My neighbor Amanda was also one of the closest friends I've had here in Yakima, but she and her hubby moved to Seattle in January for his job and we don't talk nearly as much as I'd like... So again, I moved on and started trying to meet new friends. I have a great group of girls that I get together with every month or so but no-one that I feel comfortable calling up at 9pm and bawling my eyes out to when Addison had a rough day or Derek and I had a fight. I don't have a best friend. A BFF. Hell, I don't even have a BF, and that's what makes me sad.

This isn't meant to be a 'woe is me' post (okay, maybe a tiny bit)... but I'm really starting to feel like that guy from 'I love you, man' who starts friend dating to find a best man for his wedding. I feel like at 28 years old, everyone has already made their connections, everyone else already has a BFF.
The problem is, I'm weird. I'm neurotic. I'm silly. I'm self conscious. I'm completely OCD. It takes a really special person to 'get me' and still love me. When I become friends with someone, I give my all and I expect the same in return - it's not that I'm looking for someone to lean on and vent to as much as I'm looking for someone who will do the same in return. Someone who I can confide in and not worry about being judged or talked about... someone who will sit and eat Ben & Jerry's with me after a shitty day. Someone who will gush over Coach bags and cute shoes and who understands how freakish it is to find that wiggly, jiggly, flabby skin on the back of your arms... a girl friend.

So my questions to my interweb friends - who I love very much... is how do you go about making friends?? Not just people that you can have a drink with every once in a while, but honest to God, FRIENDS. Cuz apparently, I missed the memo...

So. Sick.

O.Em.Gee.

I am so bloody sick. Addison had it. Derek had it. Now it's my turn. I spent three hours being violently sick this morning, passed out twice from throwing up so much, and have lost 6 pounds in a day.

Also... I will very likely not eat tacos again for a very, VERY, V-E-R-Y long time.

Okay, my blog has just gone through it's first major make-over... new header, a button, and a siggy... you all have NO IDEA how tech savy I'm feeling right about now!!

The terrible towel...

We were getting Addison ready for her bath and Derek walked out of the laundry room with one of her pink, hoodie towels on his head... We haven't laughed this hard in a long time - sometimes you just need to let loose and be silly...

Chatty Addi...

Addison has recently developed the need to chat ALL the time... and I LOVE it!! She chatter along like this throughout her entire bath (even when she pooped in the tub - AGAIN)...



but the fun doesn't stop there... she keeps going until bottle time! Despite how riled up she gets, twenty minutes and 6 ounces later, she's out cold!

Hey, I know you!!!

I always find it funny when I run into a student at Target or Costco and they get all weirded out that I actually exist outside of the classroom. It blows their mind to think that I buy groceries, go out to dinner, and go shopping just like "normal people" do.

When I was out buying groceries at Fred Meyer the other day I almost walked smack into one of the lactation nurses from the hospital where Addison was born. During the first two weeks of her life, we were in the ABC Clinic (After Baby Comes Clinic) almost daily because she lost so much weight. So, when I saw this nurse who had spent several hours with us trying to help Addison learn how to latch on I almost instantly walked up to say something along the lines of, "OMG! Hi! Do you remember us? I had my baby in September and we had trouble nursing so we came into the clinic a bunch and you worked with us on the whole breastfeeding thing it didn't' end up working out so I've had to pump and bottle feed instead and I got mastitis twice and my daughter is so cute do you remember her?" ::gasp in air after one incredibly LONG sentence::

Then, I paused and thought of my students. Of course she is out buying groceries, talking on her phone, and living her totally normal life. She was off duty... der. She wouldn't remember us, she probably would have been polite, faked that she had a clue who I was, cooed over Addison, asked how things were going, and we would have said our goodbyes. But in reality, I was just another in a long line of boobs with a newborn attached who was in need of her assistance. So, I smiled to myself, said a silent thank you to her for her help, and went searching for the half-and-half.

Now, my students strange reactions make a little more sense to me...

Oh, I'm sorry. Am I flooding your yard?

This ::points to picture:: was the scene behind our shed when I got home from grocery shopping today. Apparently the city turned on the irrigation water and we had a pipe freeze over the winter. See that green round thingy? About 4 feet down in that hole is a little lever that you have to turn to shut off the water. So, armed with a hot dog roasting stick, I waded out into the weeds, grass clippings, mud, and I'm sure, dog poop too, to try and turn the damn thing off. No luck. Got SOAKED with ice water in the process. Next bright idea, try and turn the little blue lever right next to where the water is shooting out of... got even MORE SOAKED. Called father-in-law. He came, armed with an appropriate tool and got the stupid geyser turned off... Happy spring y'all. I'm going to go take a hot shower and try to regain feeling in my toes again.

Addison's Dorky Dinnertime Dance...

The show starts at 7pm every night.... in house entertainment =]