Spring Break Nanny-time

You all know I just think the world of Melissa's kids. They are, as I say, my adopted niece & nephew. I can't get enough of them! I got especially attached to them last summer, "Nannying" them 3 days a week for about 7 weeks. Well, I came back for more for my spring break this week! I'm writing this entry, mainly just about my first 30 minutes or so alone with the kidson day 1 of Nanny-time.

I got here on Monday morning around 9 a.m. Meliss & I had some breakfast & coffee together. Once she started her conference call, I took the 2 kids upstairs to play. Wouldn't you know that the 2 kids & I are at the window, looking outside & then having toys on the window sill, playing, talking, singing, etc. I'm sitting on the floor & the 2 kids are walking to get toys & coming back. Well, Matias falls& starts crying like crazy! I pick him up & he immediately hangs on to me like he's really hurt. I keep hugging & trying to soothe him & his cries get louder. I pull his head off my shoulder to look at his face & I see some blood coming down his chin! WTF?! I look around & there are no Kleenex, paper towels, etc. up here. I look to my computer, but it's not hooked up to the internet yet b/c I didn't get to ask Meliss for the code to get on her wireless. She was on a conference call. CRAP!! I was just starting to get Alex's hand so we could walk downstairs together so I could get a towel or something & Meliss meets us on the stairs. She knew her baby's cry was something real. So-Alex says she needs to 'tee tee'. I take her to the potty while Meliss takes care of Matias. Meliss brings Matias back to me with an ice cube & instructs me to have him suck on it to help w/ the swelling on his lip (he did bust his lip open, poor thing!). She goes back to her conference call & Matias is sucking on the ice & Alex is getting ready to get on the potty.

I didn't know, but she does this little kick thing with her panties on her ankle to kick them off, before sitting on the potty. Well wouldn't you know that as I'm holding the ice for Matias I look over as she does her kick-move & she falls off the stool, next to the toilet! She kind of hurt her hand & my mouth just dropped open! Her face started to crumble a bit but I quickly started talking to her & distracted her, kissed her hand, & she got on the potty & did her thing. No big deal! Whew!

THEN I go back to Matias & the ice. Wouldn't you know (I'm really liking this phrase!) he sucks the ice out of my hand & into his mouth. I freak about that, thinking he's going to choke on that & I'm just having some back luck, in so little time! :(

Anyway I got the ice out of his mouth, Alex got dressed again & we all went upstairs for a full day of playing & singing & such. Whew!

Now as I write this, I have completed day 2 of 3. Today was pretty uneventful, which is good, after the start I had yesterday! Of course I'm even more attached to these kids, if that's possible. I can't wait to hang with them 3 days a week this summer as well!

Best Club Ever!

I've been meaning to write an entry about this night for awhile - because I went to the BEST CLUB EVER 3-4 weeks ago. Yong is supposed to write her version of this night on her blog. She's just now learning how to use Facebook, so it may be awhile before she does that. ;)

So Mr. L & I go to downtown Dallas & eat at Iron Cactus, & planned to go to Obar, my favorite bar ever! (They play some dance music & have fashion shows on the TV screens). Yong & Stan met up with us for dinner-& by that time Mr. L & I found out that Obar had closed! WTF!? I was so sad. I really liked that place. Well, Mr. L had heard of a new place down the road - walking distance - called Plush. While we were waiting in line outside, I heard some remixes of 80's music. YES! That is just my style! We are waiting in the long line..waiting...& the door guy sees Yong in her gloriousness & asks how many are with her, blah blah, & lets us in. YES! Then I realize this place is more like a club than a bar. I thought I was too old for clubs, unless you are in Vegas, but whatever! Then the guest DJ, STARKILLER, comes on, & plays house music! Well, I had to hurry & drink my wine. Then I got another glass. I had to hurry & drink that b/c I didn't want to keep holding it. Then the 2 kicked in & I started dancing the night away! I had to have Mr. L hold my purse for me so I could dance more!

Yong & Stan decide to explore the new place. I was wishing she'd come back & dance with me. Once she came back with her 2nd glass of wine & asked where mine was. I made fun of her for being so slow (finally I beat someone at drinking!). Then she & Stan walk off again. I keep dancing..blah blah...then it turns to techno music apparently (Mr. L tells me this later). Maybe that's when I started dancing harder. Anyway, Mr. L & I stayed in the same basic spot all night. I was so sad Yong wasn't around me. I did get a text from her that they left. :( What a loser, leaving so early when I was having so much fun dancing by myself.

Later I speak to Yong on the phone & she & Stan had some drama which is really hilarious. I'll let her tell you all about it. I seriously can't believe we were all at the same club!

So - my story about this is boring. It's just the best club ever b/c they played DANCE music & not stupid rap music!

Now, Yong, HURRY UP & write what happened to you!

Me, Take a Sick Day?!

I'm writing this at my house, as I take a dreaded sick day. You know I HATE missing work. Maybe it's the control freak in me. Maybe it's the fact that it's more work for me to leave work than to just stay at work & do my job. Anyway-I was left no choice when I thought I could really contaminate all the innocent students at my school.

This started last Monday night, after a shower, I noticed my tummy & back were so itchy & red & sort of blotchy. The next day was the TAKS test (perhaps I'm just allergic to the test!!), & after work I bought some Dove soap, for sensitive skin. That didn't help b/c still the next 2 nights, the same thing - really itchy in the shower & so red after. As the days went on (ok, I'm only on day 3 now) the rash has moved up to my neck & is starting on the inside of my elbows. I decide to use the school nurse to my advantage & get her (free) advice. Well, when I raised my shirt for her to show her my tummy, her mouth fell open. Then I showed her my back & her mouth got even bigger! She told me to go to my Dr. She then asked for my name (she's new & I don't think I've ever spoken to her before) & wrote it on her list of kids she sees for the day, "just in case". CRAP! I don't want the fall of my school to be traced back to me & the mysterious rash!! In the meantime, I have been slathering on the Gold Bond anti-itch cream. Ohhh how nice that stuff is! Too bad I smell like a grandma b/c it's soooo 'medicine-y' smelling! :(

I woke up this morning around 1:45 scratching my neck like crazy. It was so itchy! I decided it would probably just continue spreading & I sure didn't want it all over my face, visible to everyone!

So I got a Dr. appointment for this morning. I proceeded to tell the Dr. before he saw it that, "in my professional opinion, based on my research on Google, I think I have scabies." Then I show him & he is taken aback for a second, gathers his thoughts, & says "no, that is not scabies." Ok...great...so what is it, & how did I get it, & am I contagious? He said it looked like something internal was going on in me & it's like I had an allergic reaction to a food I ate. Well, I haven't tried anything new - you know I don't like freak food, so I guess I'll never know what it really is.

Are you wanting to see a picture? I'm glad - b/c I have one to show you! Yes, I took it myself. I'm great at self-portraits! :)



Then I met up with Regina & Nicole for a lovely lunch at McAllister's. How nice to pretend to be a part of corporate America & take an hour lunch, or maybe just a bit longer, & not worry about anything! It was fun to hang with them, even if only for a short while. I did show them my tummy & they both did the gasp sound. :) Yep, I have that effect on people! ;)

So, here I am, writing about it & showing you some self portraits. I have 6 days of steroid pills to take. The Dr. assured me it wouldn't bulk me up. Too bad ;).

Let me know if you want to see more pics - I'll email them to you, lol

Weekend Trip to Austin

Our great friend from UNT, Mina, had a baby about a month ago. The girls decided to get together to take a road trip to Austin to see her & the new baby. It happened to fall on the weekend before my birthday, so it was like a party trip & see the new baby trip all in one! :) Regina, Nicole, Yong, & I met at Yong's house Saturday morning. Lucky for me, Nic made Yong make us breakfast before we made the 3.5 hour drive. If you know anything about Yong, she is the best cook ever!!!! We had bacon, sausage, biscuits, and an omelet that had potatoes & asparagus in it. Maybe other crazy things, I'm not sure, but it was definitely excellent! :) On the way to Austin nothing really exciting happened. The only crazy thing was when Yong pulled out her iphone & wanted us to watch a video on the tiny screen (Regina & I were in the backseat & Nic was driving!). Then, instead of listening to the radio, Yong asked if we wanted to hear any songs from her iphone (like it could even really get that loud). Her choices were Mariah Carey, Beyonce, & Christina Aguilera, & I think only 1 or 2 songs from each. So silly! Needless to say, we stuck with the radio.

Then Yong got on a kick of talking about Nic's feet. "Skeletor feet" she calls them. Then Yong realized how small Nic's hands/fingers are & now Nic has become a midget in Yong's eyes. I'm actually surprised Nic didn't get mad b/c I don't call her Ninja Nic for nothing! :) But Yong did all her smack talking in the nicest way possible, or it was just so funny, what she was saying, that it made it ok to say. I'm not sure but I'm glad I to witness it all b/c it was entertainment for me! Here's a pic of Yong showing Nic how to choose smaller glasses of drinks to hold while in bars, so that her midget hands can hold them better:



The first time I'm holding Mina's baby:


Once in Austin we went straight to Mina's. Her baby, Nicholas Preston, was (is) adorable!! We hung out for awhile, all taking turns holding the baby. Too bad I was with 3 other girls that like to hold babies! It's not fun at all having to share! :( Mina was planning to meet us out for dinner so after a few hours we left to go to the hotel to check in & get ready for the night out. On the way to the hotel we stop at a liquor store so Yong can get 2 bottles of champagne for us to have in the room. First, she & I walk into the wrong door - & realize we are in the convenience store & walk back out, then walk next door & go in the correct store, the liquor store. We immediately get what we want & wait & wait at the counter...all for no one to even be in the store! I think if there weren't cameras, we could have stolen the bubblies & no one would have known! Of course we aren't that way, & of course I saw myself on the TV behind the counter...but where are the people that work there? Kinda spooky if you ask me! Finally I tell Yong we need to walk next door & ask the guy in the convenience store what's going on. As we walk in, they both walk out & apologize. So we finally pay & are on our way to the hotel. We check in, find our room, & GREAT - hear we have 30 more minutes of happy hour. Yong was so pleased to know she was correct & all of us were WRONG - happy hour was FREE! So we all had a glass of our favorite drink in the lobby area of our floor. We all got a little tipsy I think...maybe b/c of the lack of food in our system.

Then we get back to the room & get ready. Nic's cousin Melissa showed up. Mina showed up. We all had a glass of bubblies before heading out. I decided we should ask the concierge guy where we can go to eat out on 6th Street. Great-he tells us about a place & says there is everything on the menu & he made a reservation for us. We get there at 9:00. It takes maybe 10 minutes before we get our first drink. We notice it's a 'fancy' place for 6th Street, but whatever. Then we finally order awhile later...& it takes OVER AN HOUR to get our food! We kept waiting & waiting...Yong asks the waitress if we can at least have some bread. "of course!" did we ever get it? Nope! Then a manager comes by & asks if he can get us anything & we ask for bread. We get it immediately. Then we wait & wait...actually I'm surprised that no one at our table said anything about the slow service. We have Nic who I call "Ninja Nicole" for a reason! We have Mina & Yong who are my 2 loudest friends...& Regina, well, she is just a nice girl, I guess! ;) Finally, at 10:20 or so, Yong & I go to the bathroom & I say "we just have to leave, & the food will come". Sure enough, we get back to the table & our food is there. Yes, it took OVER AN HOUR! Crazy. At least we could all agree that the food was GREAT! Too bad it took OVER AN HOUR! :) The manager kept checking on us. At the end we said we didn't want dessert. I think we just all wanted out of there! Well, the manager brought us a bottle of champagne to share, & also a dessert. At least we got that but geez! So, we didn't get out of the restaurant until after 11!

The fun part of all that was during dinner, Yong talked about how it would be scary to surf b/c of the sharks. She now has a plan for when this happens. Let me fill you in so you can help protect yourself the next time you hang ten. First, wear a backpack & put a live chicken in it. Then when you see a shark, simply pull out the chicken & throw to the shark. Apparently that gives you enough time to swim or surf away. Oh yeah, let's not forget that you should have a gun as well. Keep it in a Ziplock bag since guns aren't water-proof. As I mentioned to Yong that sharks can smell 1 drop of blood from a mile away (thank you, TAKS passage, for teaching me that!) she said she would also stab the chicken with a knife so that the shark would go to the chicken instead of her. She didn't realize that would attract more sharks but whatever. As I type all this I realize it's not funny at all...but at the time she really had all of us laughing so hard!!

Yong shooting a shark:



Here's a pic of Yong looking scared if she were to see a shark:



After dinner we went to a couple different places on 6th Street to hang out & have some drinks. There was nothing really exciting that happened that night. I think we were all so full from a late dinner. Too bad Yong & I tried to keep tradition & bought a slice of pizza to share on the walk back to the hotel. Nope, it was cold & we were still too full from dinner. oh well.

The next morning we enjoyed our free continental breakfast, making a few trips from the room to the lobby area since all the tables were taken (& there were only about 5 of them!). After checking out we went back to Mina's to see her & the baby one last time. Then came the long drive home. Doesn't it always seem longer when you are driving home...tired from the night before & just wanting to be home??? On the way home Yong came up with a game where she rated the 4 of us in the car. She rated us on everything from jewelry to cooking to jeans to tv watching (I needed a category where I was #1!).

(Our 2nd trip to see the baby, on the way back home):




When we stopped for lunch we all were trying to agree upon a place to eat. Regina didn't want Taco Bell. Chick-Fil-A was closed, Nic didn't like Arby's, so we agreed to eat at Wendy's (I personally don't really like Wendy's, but didn't want to seem picky-haha!). We all go to the bathroom first & come out. I ordered first & as I'm getting my change back, Yong looks scared & says she saw the "biggest cricket ever" & used her fingers to show me a width of about 4" long. I pictured that & said "no way - a cricket that big?!" Of course I peeked down the hallway by the bathrooms & it was a dang cockroach! Yuck! I even hate typing that word! Well, as I'm being handed my food, I notice that NONE of the other 3 girls bothered to even order! The bam girls decided they didn't want to eat there. What the buck!? I walk out & decide to let them know "I don't even like Wendy's & I'm the only one with food from here!" I will admit that they offered to buy my lunch at the next place we stop, but I declined. I decided to tough it out & I know all restaurants are bound to have them. "Yes," Yong says, "but not all are out in the open, in the hallway by the bathrooms/kitchen!" Crap. So they all stop at Whataburger & get food & I just eat my kids meal from Wendy's. Oh well.

Back on the road...Nic & I try to convince Yong to make us wontons once we get back to her apartment. Yong was having no part of that. Too bad. Those are the best wontons I've ever had! Wait-they are the ONLY wontons I've ever had! :)

So, we make it back safe & sound & that's it! As I said, there wasn't too much craziness, but I had so much fun with the girls!!! :)
(I'm sure I left out something...but maybe Yong will post a blog & add in anything I missed!)

Birthday Surprise

Thanks to everyone for the cute cards you've sent me in the mail for my birthday! I had a great 33rd birthday....I went to Austin the weekend before with the girls to hang out, although the real reason was to see Mina's new baby boy. Throw my birthday into the mix & we killed 2 birds with 1 stone. Another entry on the Austin trip later, though. Until then...I just thought I'd write a quick post to tell you about the birthday surprise I received once I got to school on Monday.

After getting into my classroom around 7 a.m., I grab my coffee pot on my counter & hold it under the sink to fill with water (they are right next to each other). As it's filling up, I notice something in the water, INSIDE the coffee pot!!! What the crap?! Freak!!! It's a bucking cockroach the size of...well, you know the size of those that are found in schools. HUGE! It's alive too! Or maybe it's not, & it was just taking a little bath in my coffee pot & the water was moving him around?? Anyway I somehow didn't drop & break the pot, but put it on the counter, turned off the water, & ran to the middle of my classroom. I'm so glad I didn't have a class at this point! After being in the middle of my room for a minute & surrounding myself with space while looking around me to make sure he didn't have a friend...I called Mr. L & said "I need you...right away!" He knew what was going on. He came & rescued me. Whew! Needless to say I have disinfected my coffee pot so that I can use it again. I told myself my anxiety/phobia over these will NOT allow me to buy a new coffee pot. See? I'm not that crazy!

Anyway...as mentioned I plan to write an entry about our Austin trip but wanted to put this quick story in first! So gross, I know. :(

Crazy Times with 7th Graders

Here's a few funny stories for your entertainment, straight from my 7th grade classroom.

Walking my kids back from the lunchroom, a boy asked to use the bathroom. I pretended to not hear him (remember when you were in school & you thought your teachers were so dumb & deaf b/c they weren't aware of everything going on around them? Now I know...they did!). I got the kids on task & they were actually quiet & doing their work. No one was off task (incredible, especially the week before we get out for Christmas break for 2 weeks!). This boy walks up to my desk & right as I look at him, he opens his mouth to talk. Only then, a fart came out! It was especially loud, since my classroom was quiet! He quickly said 'can I go to the bathroom?' & I said "yes, go! Don't worry about getting a pass!' lol I knew I could NOT look up & get eye contact with any kid b/c I would start lol, like they were. I had to turn around & walk to my file cabinet & pretend to look for a paper, while saying "be quiet!" Then a girl said "I thought it was you, MIss!" & that almost embarrassed me but I just smiled at her & rolled my eyes. As if I ever did things like that!!! So I got the kids quiet again & on task....the boy comes back from the bathroom & more giggles erupt. I was under control myself so I just gave an angry look & told them to get back to work. If only it was a 'bad boy', b/c I probably would have laughed at him, but this boy is so nice & sweet, I couldn't do it. Really, it was a miracle that happened, that I somehow had self control. Whew!

Then, in one of my worst classes, I have a boy who always wants to sit at the table right by my door, never with the class. I was passing out papers & explaining what to do. I put his papers on his assigned seat, on the opposite side of the room. I said "blah blah (I'm not using his name to protect his privacy, of course!), I have your papers here on your desk, your assigned seat". & he shook his head to me, like ok. I kept talking to the class & finally looked at him (he hadn't moved at all) & I said "blah blah, are you refusing to do today's assignment & sit in your assigned seat"? He grabbed his stuff & proceeded to stand up, while saying "God you are SO annoying!" LOL! I actually laughed at that - saying "did you just call me annoying?!" & he said 'yes' (thank you for being honest, blah blah, by the way!). I said 'ok, get your stuff & go to the office then'. After he left I told the class I didn't realize I was the one being annoying, since I was just having him do what everyone else in the class had already done. Amazing. In my 11 years of teaching, I've never been told I was annoying (not to my face anyway!).

Miss...you miss teaching in Southside, don't you???? :)))

Enough Wilderness Already!!

Can you believe that 17th of this month will mark the 1 year anniversary of my moving into my first home?! Wow. Time flies! I must admit the first year wasn't too shabby! (I need to send a shout-out to my Dad who helped me by installing a new garage door motor...a new garbage disposal...tons of other stuff as well...then there's my brother & dad, who just put insulation in the attic over Thanksgiving weekend). They've both been lifesavers!

So, after being in my house a few months, & even more so with summertime, I found out there's a plethora of lizards running around the neighborhood! They're in my flower beds in the front of the house. When talking to a neighbor one day, she asked if I had them, because they were all over their yard. I figure it's always good to have lizards, as long as they don't jump on me or make me touch them or come in my house..I'm cool with that! I remember when I lived with Melissa for 5.5 years in our apartment in "Use-less", we had those tiny gecko lizards & sometimes they'd come in. I'd just look at them & say 'whateva!' (Can you believe that?). These I have now are bigger!

So, let's get started on this wilderness story...last Saturday I pulled a chair away from the wall in my front living room (a room I do not use - but only walk through, the few times I use my front door). After pulling the chair away, I pulled a fake plant (that's taller than I am) away from the wall & a lizard slid out with it! Yikes! How come Mr. L isn't here when these things happen?! I stare at it a second & it doesn't move. I tap my foot close to it & it still doesn't move. Whew - it's dead! I think about getting a wad of paper towels to throw it away & say 'nah - I'll do it later'. Well, I fix the plant & am moving it back to the wall & the bucking lizard crawls! CRAP! Well, apparently it's dying. So it's currently between a planter & the wall in that room, & it's been in the same position ever since. The next time Mr. L comes over I will tell him to set it free in my flower bed. I don't want to kill them! (Although this one must be in bad shape!). Can you imagine the heart attack I would have had if I was picking up what I thought was a dead lizard & it moved? Or what if it crawled on my arm out of the paper towels? Wow. I might not have a heart attack but I'd probably faint. Yes I'm that kooky & I do get myself worked up like crazy, especially with bugs. (Thanks mom for teaching me to behave this way). ;)

Later on, Saturday afternoon, I have my back door opened so that a nice fresh breeze can come through the screen door. I'm on the couch relaxing with Chloe (after raking up leaves from my front flower beds - it took 4 1/2 outdoor trash bags to get it all!) & I hear birds outside. Not a big deal but Chloe's ears perked up so I pick her up & just stand at the back door so we can look out. "Lord & behold" (thanks Yong for teaching me that phrase)...a freakin' vulture or hawk or something flew from the neighbor's tree to a tree in the backyard of the house behind me! Wow the wingspan of those birds are amazing! I think Chloe & I both had this face :o. lol

Last night around 9:00, after good times all day with Yong...I'm in my bathroom, putting on moisturizer, singing a little song you may have heard called "Womanizer" & I hear a noise outside my bedroom window! Yikes! It is like something banged on the metal of the A/C unit which is right by my window! So of course I stop singing & think "if someone comes a'crashin' through that window, I'm going to be stuck in this bathroom!" I hear the noise again! WTF!? I move to the far wall in my bedroom so I can quickly run down the hallway if need be. I hear it again! I debate on calling 911. Instead I call Mr. L & tell him I hear a noise outside. Again, why does this all happen when I'm A-L-O-N-E?! He's all calm about it, like it's not a big deal b/c it's not happening to him, & tells me to turn on the patio light. So I go to my back door, peek out the blinds, turn on the porch light, & see a bird sitting on the A/C unit (this after hearing this banging sound on the A/C unit about 6 times). I'm much more relaxed...& go back to my bedroom window to get a better look. It's a little baby owl!!! Oh my gosh it was so precious! It heard me moving the blinds & it turned it's head all the way around to look at me. It was just so amazing. It turned away from me, just like it was chillin'. I wanted to get a picture of it but knew it'd probably fly away if I left the window, & I wanted to just keep looking at it. It was probably 9" tall. Did I mention how cute it was!??? Eventually it hopped off the A/C unit, to the ground. I ran to the back door again to get a better look but it was gone in the darkness after that. :(



(No, this pic isn't me holding the owl. It's just a pic I found online, maybe a bit smaller than the one I saw in real life).

In conclusion, as cute as that baby owl was...really now...I've HAD IT with wilderness! I had no clue "Bedford" meant getting in touch with my outdoorsiness side! Bluck!!!! Sometimes I really miss Plano.