great day, lost evening!

I woke up when DH left for work.  I didn’t get up, but I lay in bed until my alarm went off.  For bfast I had cc with cantaloupe (2PPs).  I got to read two chapters of my book.  I packed my lunch and headed to work.  I got there early.  Today I hid in a corner behind a cabinet in the gym.  It was strange b/c there’s a large mirror and I could see people who walked by but, unless aware of me, they couldn’t see really see me.  I actually found several recipes to save for trial later.

I also tried to view my paycheck online, what a PITA.  I was curious how much my pay jumped.  If I remember correctly it was 1.25.  So I don’t guess I need a raise, but that means that I’ll be at my rate for a year and half total.  I won’t get a raise btwn now and next July.  Towards the end of the day I wondered if my 1’s are what kept me from getting a raise.  If that’s the case then I’m really infuriated with my CT.  She’s okay with being written up for not keeping the area tidy, but I on the other hand try and try extremely hard and am NOT okay with being written up or reprimanded for it!

The kids were amazing today!!!  Our newest twins transitioned really well.  I took the kid on my load from dad and sat with him to work the shape sorter.  It took a few minutes for him to adjust to playing with me versus wanting and reaching for dad.  After he adjusted he actually said ‘bye bye’ to his parents to let them know he was okay.  When the parents left neither one of the boys cried.  They didn’t have any tears all day long!  They played with peers, on the playground, participated in circle time, and used their spoons to taste their lunches. 

I was able to complete my DN during nap time and post them online.  When the kids were gone at two I managed to enter all my contact logs except for the one I have on Fridays.  My CT had her review at two and I don’t really know how it went.  All I know is she got a 1 in the same area as I did.  I don’t know if she got a raise or not.  (I found this all out at the end of the day when she left).

I played with the babies and the eldest children today.  Which means I was actually on schedule!  Nothing of interest in either room.  Nor was there much to note happening in the toddlers during the last hour of my day. 

We got or daily schedules for tomorrow and which room we are supposed to cover.  My CT only gets an hour.  I’m fortunate enough to have three, at least I think.  However she has me scheduled in rooms from eleven until I leave.  She didn’t include a lunch break for me anywhere, just teacher coverage.  So I’m either supposed to take a break at ten thirty, but who eats lunch that early not to mention I’ll be ravishingly hungry later if I eat that early, OR I don’t get one at all.  I think I’m going to not take one and if anything is said to me I’m going to have to somehow politely say something along the lines that I wasn’t scheduled one.  I’m not going to question the AD and why it wasn’t included for two reasons.  1: for fear she’ll tell me to eat at ten thirty and 2: I’m worried she’ll be offended that I corrected her.  However after our last talk she did mention that she’s only human and she makes mistakes just like everyone else. 

I was extremely bad on the food front today.  The AD made homemade ‘Jell-O’ cupcakes (basically she just doused white cupcakes with liquid Jell-O which made them flavorful and exceptionally moist.  Of course I had a couple as well as a small piece of funfetti going away cake for Ms. Audrey.  Oh yeah there were cookies from Panera too and I had a couple.

So for dinner I didn’t really eat a meal.  I had a few bites of DH deer BBQ sandwich, some French onion generic sunchips, and a banana. 

DH got off at his regularly scheduled time today and was home by three thirty.  We found out that his family is celebrating the fourth on Sunday.  Which sucks b/c he has to work on Sunday not to mention he didn’t volunteer for the Monday shift and get double pay.  I’m considering going to the family gathering with his parents.  My only pause is due to I haven’t talked to his Aunt Pam since she re-negged on her TW order.  I’m also trying to go to his parent’s house on Saturday so I can re-research all the places we have been offered to take a ‘free vacation’ too.  I’d also like to finish getting updated on all my blogs as well as maybe have Carolyn trim my hair. 

To make the end of my day a bit bad I’ve lost/misplaced my jump drive!  I had it in the back of my pants, but when I went to get it to save this I couldn’t find it.  I checked my pockets and pulled dirty clothes and what not out of the closet.  I hope I didn’t lose it at work b/c it’s got all my ‘journal’ entries on it!  For now I’m going to save everything to the hard drive of the laptop.

High today: my double edged sword: cupcakes and the little guy said bye to his parents as well as a tear free day.

Thanks for stopping by…

WW

+ 19 minutes = time DH got home

what would you think?

I had some crazy dreams last night!  I can’t remember any details exactly, but I do know that it had something to do with being at a live production/play and it was a mix of Wicked and some sort of vampire drama with a flying car!  The actors performed in the aisles and seats and all kinds of bells and whistles.  I was asleep so deep that when the alarm went off my body was stiff and ache-y when I had to get up! 

For bfast I had some lowfat cottage cheese with cantaloupe.  The cottage cheese was an off brand from Aldi’s and it was super yummy!  It was kind of on the sweet side and I actually liked it on its own!  I read a chapter in the Sookie series and got ready for work a ten minutes early.  Lunch of course was easy since I prepped it last night. 

Since I got ready early I got to work an hour early.  I know that sounds kind of crazy but there were things I needed to do on the net that I’ve not been able to here at the house.  I’m still not caught up on all my back logged blogs.  I hid in the closet again today and was found :’(   Mrs. Amy found me first and chatted with me for several minutes.  And while she was talking to me m CT came in.  Then my CT came in two more times before we had to go to class.  Once she came in while I was ‘on my time’ and another while I was trying to work.  The time she came in while I was working could actually be considered two times b/c she left for a minute and remembered that she needed to tell me something else and came back in. 

I was able to catch up on my notes from yesterday just barely.  I was printing and closing it out at two minutes till. 

Our twins parents may have finally got the point that the kids are okay with us and they adjust much better the quicker the parents leave.  They came in and the boys started wailing.  Mom said she knew they were okay but it breaks her heart to hear them like that.  Then she asked how they did afterwards.  I let her know that it varies, however the last day that they were there and they came in twenty minute early and then hung out twenty minutes after drop off time made it harder for the boys.  So she asked if they do better when parents leave earlier.  *Here was my aaaahhhhh (read that with the halo light bulb sound) moment*  I told her that children in general do much better getting calm when they don’t have as much time to be upset; SOOO they both left!  It was probably the quickest they’ve been in and out since they’ve started in the beginning of June!  I hope that it goes this way FOREVER! 

The day itself was pretty smooth.  I had my annual review at ten thirty-ish.  Lots was said, but basically I have four goals: keep our space tidier, get paperwork done on time, seek more training (especially in the area of eating), and learn to use and implement our new talking device – an i-pod! 

I was a little bit irked about the first goal b/c I TRY, every day I try.  My CT just doesn’t understand to put her stuff away when she gets into the room  she always lays it on the counter and just leaves her messes out (like her paint, q-tips, and rice from last week that I finally put away this week!) and all her personal papers.  The DR said she would mention it to her in her review later this week.  When I said something to my CT she said she knew, but they could just write her up b/c she isn’t good at it.  In my head I was thinking – no it’s not okay if they write you up b/c then I’ll get written up too and I’m so not okay with that!  For heaven’s sake she’s a grown woman, why on earth am I cleaning up after her?  She’s not my kid!  She said she prefers it to be clean and tidy, but she’s not been good at it.  So the Dr said that I should talk with her about pulling her weight, but how do you tell someone who knows they should clean up and still doesn’t?  I’ve hinted at her a gazillion times and she still doesn’t do it.  I’m worried that it’s going to get on her nerves me cleaning up behind her all the time, but than again maybe that’ll push her to clean it herself. 

I know my paperwork hasn’t been done on time, but we’ve got a but load to do and I’ve already logged my feelings on that so I don’t need  go into.  However I didn’t tell her all of that.  I told her that yes I know our LP’s haven’t been done on time and that’s my learning curve right now. 

In relation to the third goal I told her that I’ve always wanted to go to outside trainings but they all occur during the week while I have to be at work.  And me being the way that I am don’t think it’s appropriate to ask off b/c I know how much of a challenge it is for the rest of the staff.  Then she mentioned that she wants me to go to these kind of things, especially since I’m now a lead teacher.  Then she told me about two other girls going to trainings (which I found out one is a three day trip and the other (I knew) was a two day trip).  So now that I know this little tid bit of info I’m going to jump on these awesomely interesting sounding trainings!  The fourth is a brand new one since we haven’t gotten the i-pods yet. 

Also I should mention that I did not, I repeat: I did not get a pay raise.  I was a bit shocked.  The numbers on my report were good.  I had two ones, maybe that’s why I didn’t get one now that I think about it; and a lot of threes and some twos and one four!  I knew that the raises were miniscule since the AT in the toddler room told me.  However she told me it was so small it was almost like it was not one at all.  Well at least she got a teeny one.  I’m trying to tell myself that the reason I didn’t get one was b/c I got a raise in January when I started my new role.  I told my CT and expressed that I hoped she be open with me and let me know if she got one or not.  I don’t want to know how much she gets paid or how much she gets if she gets one, just whether or not she gets one.  I’m hoping, and I’m stressing this (words just don’t express the way I feel about it) that she will be truthful with me.  I kind of think she’ll tell me she didn’t just to make life peaceful.

When I got back from lunch my CT headed out for her planned six month review for one of the twins.  The review was scheduled from one to two forty five.  I asked the DR about who was going to take care of the boys while the parents were still in the meeting after two.  She basically told me that I shouldn’t be responsible and she would take care of it.  Now guess what, guess who took care of the boys at two?  If you said the DR, you’d be wrong.  Guess again?  Did you guess me?  YEP, that’s who was with the boys for another forty minutes!  The AD came in and said something about it and I told her that I’d need to make up my lost time when I could. 

I would however like to mention how awesome they did all day today.  There weren’t any tears during transition or circle time.  I wasn’t in there for lunch so I don’t know how they did.  I do know however that they both went straight down on their mats and passed out.  The youngest woke up crying and didn’t really stop the whole time.  The kid on my case ate his whole Trix yogurt cup and five goldfish crackers during snack.  While it was just the three of us from two to two forty five they did amazing.  They worked on taking turns, clapping for one another, saying my turn, recognizing colors, dancing and singing, and labeling objects and pictures in a book. 

Back to the day: after the boys left I headed to the baby room.  They were low and it was kind of simple.  There were a couple of times I felt a little bit of tension but it wasn’t between them, it was more between them and/towards me.  I’m not sure why, they didn’t fell that way yesterday.  Since they were so low here wasn’t much that I noticed or though needed to be done with the kids other than play. 

I got amazingly lucky; at three fifteen the AD sent in our full time floater to relieve me and I was able to get out and get caught up on my notes and started my monthly summaries by entering the data (which sometime seems to take longer than the typing of the summaries themselves). 

At four I headed to the toddlers and nothing much happened.  I left the room on time at five.  Once again the AD sent in the full time floater to relieve me.  When she did I went to our room and started working on my first goal.  I cleaned the smaller side counter and started putting toys away off the large shelf.  I’ve also asked the AD if she could let me know when she has days she’s going to come in early or stay late so maybe I can take advantage of it and work on meeting this goal.  There’s so much to clean and organize.  I’ve told myself a hundred plus times that I was going to do it as soon as one job or another got completed.  However once that job got done a new one popped up.  For instance we’ve had tons of new kid start.  And then some of the kids have reviews do which needs paperwork completed.  Or they are going to Metro programs and they need paperwork done too.  Or I’m done with my work so I need to go relieve another teacher for them to get caught up.  (I told myself that since the DH had to work this weekend that I’d bring my stuff home so I could do it then.)

We had a mandatory meeting for an hour.  Not much new.  We talked about our checklists to meet 3 star rating, graduation ceremony around the corner (the theme being When I Grow Up), and our new i-pods.

It was close to dinner time when we were done so I ate my planned dinner: a pb and jelly sandwich (5PPs).  I think I did really great concerning my food intake today.  I had the cc with cantaloupe (2PPs) for breakfast, carrots, chicken salad (guesstimating at 8PPs) with half an apple, a white nectarine, and watermelon.  The only cheating I ate today was about five goldfish and five animal crackers.  I was still a wee bit hungry when I got home.  I ate two bites of DH dinner, stuffed crust pizza, a banana, and made an adult coffee toffee blended drink (8PPs) for a total of 23 PPs in estimation.  

I also packed my lunch for tomorrow: carrots, a seven layer salad with light mayo (4PPs – due to mayo and ham), cantaloupe, a peach and an apple.  For bfast I plan on having a banana with carbmaster.  While packing my lunch DH slipped in the conversation that he would more than likely have to work on Monday the 4^th.  He said he talked to his boss and was told that it was a case based on seniority.  She didn’t necessarily tell him that he would be working, but there are only two other employees that were hired after him.  Then he started to say something about there weren’t too many people who worked there that were married and I told him it didn’t matter about marriage b/c single people or dating people still like to celebrate the day, take a day off, and party the day before since the holiday falls on a Monday.  He’s way more optimistic about it, me on the other hand since I’m more of a half empty cup kind of person expect him to work.  So now I’m undecided about whether or not I want to go to home to Paris to visit my mom.  I though about going and then coming back Sunday night or early Monday morning to spend the day with his family at his Aunt and Uncles in the pool, but if he’s not going to be there I’m not going to be there either (especially since I haven’t seen or spoken to his aunt since she so rudely side swept my TW business under her carpet).  So now I can either go and feel guilty about coming home mid-day just b/c I don’t want to drive at night or not go at all.  I feel like if I go my mom’s going to want me to stay to watch fireworks or celebrate the actual night of the fourth.  Decisions, decisions, decisions!  I will like to admit it’s going to be kind of nice that we aren’t going down town and having to fight the monstrous crowd when the show is over though. 

While we were relaxing and watching ‘TV’ DH got a call and was told to ‘expect a long day’ and to go ahead and fill out his paperwork before leaving in the morning.  We were going to have the new turkey medallions I got at Aldi’s for dinner with roasted/baked potatoes and broccoli, but now we are going to fend for ourselves.

That was a lot of rambling huh.  Well that’s all I’d like to remember.  Now I’m off to either watch more Battlestar or relax in bed while falling asleep to House.

High today: the boys having such a great day.

Thanks for viewing all this info…

another newbie & brownie points

I had another good nights rest last night!  DH slept with another breath right strip.  My breakfast mix f strawberries and kiwi’s with yogurt was tasty. 

Lunch was easy all I had to do was put it in the box.

When I got to work I decided to hide out in the closet until I had to be in the room.  I checked my emails and blogs and after clocking in stayed in there to do a little bit of work.

We had another new kid start today and his SC didn’t have his info online yet so I had to wait till later to know his goals. 

He is a sibling set of four with a sixteen year old brother, a ten and six year old sibling, and he’s the youngest at two.  He is SO cute!  He kind of looks like a TV star but I can’t figure out whom.  His day was pretty good.  He played well for the first twenty minutes or so and then realized mom was gone.  He had fun on the playground and cried off and on during circle time.  He sat for lunch and avoided his mac and cheese.  After avoiding it he ate his pb crackers.  He went straight to sleep which was impressive b/c mom said he doesn’t nap.  When it was time to wake up he didn’t want to get off his mat.  While we were doing our art project he so wanted to participate and watched his friends but didn’t want to come close to the table.  I took the crayon and paper to him and he made a few marks.  I also think he wanted the crackers at snack b/c when I gave them to him he reached for them.  However I sat it on the table and he wouldn’t come near it. 

After all the kids left I logged onto TEIDs to discover the new kid had been added to my CT’s case instead of mine.  I didn’t have time to do my daily notes, but I did create the new kids goal sheet. 

Then I went about my day in the baby room and the toddlers.  Numbers in both rooms were low. 

I made bad choices today when it comes to food and I ate way too many Ritz crackers. 

My wonderful hubby did an awesome job at home being off of work.  He cleaned the blue bathroom and made a fabulous dinner.  He cleaned the floor, toilet, tub, and counters!  It’s so WHITE now!  I hope it lasts this way awhile since I’m the only one who takes a shower in there. 

For dinner he turned a deer ham into a wonderful pulled BBQ dinner.  I ate mine with left over peas and five cheetos.  He of course had a sandwich.

High today: DH cleaning the bathroom on his day off!!!

Thanks for checking in on me on one of the hardest days of the week. 

a new veggie for me!!!

I had a much better nights rest.  DH was nice and wore a breath right sleep for me.  BTW I forgot to mention that he did an awesome job cleaning the house out of pure sweetness yesterday.  He also bathed, brushed, and treated the doggie!  He brushed her so much I though he had shaved her!

I woke up at a decent hour, logged onto the net and discovered a bunch of messages from the girls in GNO.  However I deleted them from my email box and tried to view them on the meetup website and couldn’t.  I’m supposed to rate the group and I’m not sure what to say.  I have to go back to at least one meeting to give it a chance.  I doubt Friday will be it due to the expense, but soon I hope.

Afterwards I called dad and chatted.  Not too much to talk about since I waas still laying in bed and wanted to be quiet. 

Then I headed to Kroger.  I bought a bit more than planned there too: white nectarines, salad, kiwi’s, and an ice cream for the hubby. 

Back at home I cut up fruits and veggies and made my lunch for tomorrow.  I also created a ‘cookie’ like recipe using the left over sweet potato cream cheese balls.  I mixed it with oatmeal, sugar, cinnamon almonds, craisins, and chocolate morsels.  They were really good fresh baked out of the oven.  They could use a little bit more sugar but I was trying to keep them healthy.  I also made sweet potato chocolate balls which weren’t a hit and I probably won’t do again. 

We watched Hitch, always a great movie, Drive Angry (a B-rate with Nick Cage that I had a free rental from the redbox), not good glad I didn’t have to pay for it, and then we watched more Battlestar.  For dinner we had ham, mashed potatoes, and the left over peas.  Man I really enjoy those now.  DH isn’t a huge fan and only had a smidge.  I also had some of the semi yummy wine tea I took to the gathering yesterday.  For dessert I had a WW chocolate brownie cup. 

High today: successful new ‘cookie’.

Thanks for ending your weekend with me…

GNO?

Well today was a questionable kind of day.  I had a rough nights sleep b/c my wonderful hubby snored something awful!  I woke up around four or so and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Since I was wide awake I tried to connect to the net and was successful!  Once logged on I RSVP’d to the pool party I mentioned last night: I’m now going to try to meet and make more/new friends!    I played for a little over an hour and tried to go back to sleep.  I dozed, but didn’t sleep.  Finally I got up around eight and started my day. 

I headed to the wine store and got there right after nine.  BTW they open at 8 a.m., isn’t that wild?!?  The man said they get people in there who are just getting off their shift so it’s kind of like their happy hour.  And there are other people who come in and cash their checks.  While I was shopping I overheard a few.  I felt kind of awkward going in that early, but at least I wasn’t the only one.  I was only going to buy two wines; one red and one white for the gathering and then one that struck my fancy.  However there was a lack Muscat and a white counterpart to the red I bought last time I was there.  That makes four and they have a deal – three for fifteen; so I ended up getting six bottles – two for the party and four for me (which ended up being five and a half for me b/c one bottle didn’t even get opened and the other only half was drunk).  Needless to say I’m pretty well stocked up on wine for a while!

Then I headed to Aldi’s to shop for my fruits and items to make a seven layer salad.  I was fortunate enough to get everything I needed for it and a few other things I didn’t.  I spent forty dollars and only meant to spend less than twenty.  Oh well I’m sure it would have been more expensive at Kroger which is the other place I needed to go for my fav. yogurt and bananas (which I didn’t have time btw and have to do it tomorrow).

Once I got back at home I made the salad and discovered that I really really liked the small sweet peas on their own!  I rushed to make the salad, showered, shaved, and got ready. 

I made it to the gathering thirty minutes late and chatted with the ladies.  Only one other person ate my salad and she loved it.  She doesn’t like dressing and was shocked that it was just mayo that was on top.  The hostess actually made her BBQ from scratch!  It was really tasty.  I made a huge pig of myself eating chips and BBQ with a little bit of fruit and salad on the side.  The organizer of the group made some awesomely fattening pina coladas.  Her secret was sweetened condensed milk.  I know I should say this ‘publicly’ but I want to remember for the next time I want them. 

There were two other new girls there.  I’m undecided about how I feel about the group.  I didn’t have too much in common with any of the chicks.  And the hostess called me Lauren.  The up side is the girl whose picture I love on the site was super friendly and asked if I was going to the melting pot dinner on Friday.  I’m a tad bit green with envy b/c one of the two new girls traded numbers with a couple of the members.  I understood why she did with the ‘pretty’ girl b/c the new girl said she wasn’t going to go to Melting Pot but would like to meet up for drinks afterwards.  I don’t know about the other chick she traded numbers with. 

Also the group of girls that left before me had a better friendlier send off than I did.  I guess that’s partly my fault though b/c they left in a group and I didn’t have all my shit together so I ended up leaving on my own and I guess all the pleasantries were done. 

When I got home I was stuffed so I didn’t eat a dinner (besides it was after six thirty) so I didn’t really need another dinner since I had eaten before I left!

Now we are watching Numb3rs and relaxing.

High today: my tasty seven layer salad and I was brave enough to go out on my own.

Thanks for taking a moment on your weekend…

TGIF

Today was a good Friday.  I woke up with a super strange feeling.  DH had the day off so I got up b/4 him for the first time this week.  It was strange for a few reasons.  I woke up around one am thinking I needed to get up and get ready to discover the time.  Then I woke up again forty five minutes b/4 the alarm went off b/c I needed to visit the ‘head’.  And when I woke up I woke from a strange dream about an ex from college.  I pushed the dream away ASAP and went about my day. 

For bfast I had mango blueberry yogurt.  I started the next book in the Sookie series.  I like the cover the best so far I think.  It really leads you to think about the path the story line takes.  For lunch I packed carrots, cucumbers, cheese, red pepper hummus, apple, orange, and grapes. 

I had to go to court today and was due at 8:30.  I got to the apartment complex DH showed me on Sunday safe and sound.  It took me fifteen minutes to walk from the parking space to the court house.  When I got there I was expecting the walk through, but not what I got.  When my purse went through the x-ray thingy the first cop saw something strange and asked the other cop (that looked like the bad guy from the Saw movies) to look at it.  I stupidly mentioned that it could be m chop-stick that I use for my hair.  The Saw cop had me take my stuff out and discovered the odd object from the x-ray was my mini hand held pepper mill.  I couldn’t stop laughing about the situation.  I asked the Saw cop if they could keep the chop-stick at the front but he said I needed to take it to my car, but I couldn’t do that b/c then I’d be late for my appointment.  He suggested but didn’t tell me, that I could hide it off the premises in the bushes so I did. 

Of course the lawyer was late, AGAIN.  However he was only twenty minutes late today.  But this time he had to deal with two other cases at the same time as mine.  It went quickly.  He asked me a couple of questions, told me about the new piece of paper I had to sign, and gave me the papers to read.  I read them.  Then we headed into the judges chambers.  She asked me three questions and let us go.  Then we stood in the hallway and he just handed me over my check. 

I should have headed to the bank to deposit it, but wanted to get to work without taking too much time out of my sick pay.  I got to work at 9:09 or 08, basically I was only an hour and fifteen minutes late. 

I clocked in, did a little bit of paperwork, till eleven.  I didn’t do any personal paperwork.  All I did was update our information due to our new kid starting next week.  I also got new yearly attendance sheets.  The entire time I’m doing this my CT is sitting there getting to do her own personal paperwork.  I’d love to see her take care of and keep in order all the extra crap I do weekly.  Afterwards I typed three fourths of our first two weeks of LP’s for July. 

I hung out with the five year olds for thirty minutes.  Then took lunch and headed to the babies afterwards.  We started our annual reviews today and I was responsible for covering the four teachers who were scheduled.  However the first few went over their time limit and the fourth teacher didn’t get to have hers.  Instead she went and did paperwork since she didn’t do it at the eleven hour when she was supposed to. 

I was lucky though; the AD permitted me to get out at four and work for thirty minutes on my own personal paperwork!  This is the first time (I think) that she has actually allowed me to get out and do necessary stuff that wasn’t scheduled!

On my lunch break I did the usual: check emails, view a few blogs, etcetera.  In one of my emails there was a reminder for a meetup that I really want to attend.  It’s out in Mt. Juliet at noon.  It’s just a bunch of girls getting together for a BBQ at a house around the pool.  I feel a bit awkward going to it while DH stays at home, but he’s done similar things recently.  I expected him to have to work this weekend and didn’t feel strange at first when I saw the group, however once I knew he didn’t have to work I became very undecided about whether or not to go.  I checked out all the foods and drinks signed up to bring and theirs some incongruence’s.  There are eighteen people RSVP’d to attend but only nine people have singed up to bring food.  I’ve left a note on the group’s page asking when the RSVP cut off time was and hope that I’m able to connect to the net later to read the mail  Aaron said he didn’t care and we cold go to Costco, Aldi’s, and Famer’s market on Sunday.  He even helped me work out an idea of what to take: a seven layer salad.  I like it and have been working out what to put in/on it. 

For dinner we made and ate the fish we should have had last night and it was GREAT!!!!  I’ve found another way to eat catfish!  I soaked the fish in soy sauce, lime juice, a little bit of honey and teriyaki sauce.  In a bowl a mixed panko crumbs and wasabi powder.  I broiled it at first but DH thought it was burning so we turned the heat down, moved the fish, and closed the door.  Mine finished b/4 his and I think it was due to mine being raised and his being on the surface of the pan.  I also made steam veggies and rice (but didn’t eat the rice).  I hope I remember this fish dish, as well as the fish tacos, and recreate it later. 

For dessert I had a tasty pudding cup and we’re watching Numb3rs. 

High today: a new recipe turning out wonderful.

Thanks for checking in on my Friday…

thank goodness its twoards the end of the week now

Today started off normal as usual.  I had strawberries and mango with yogurt.  While eating I read some Sookie and was super angry about having to put it down when I did.  I was on chapter fourteen of sixteen and it was the climatic cliffhanger, page turner, kind of line.  I actually went over the allotted amount of time I allow my self for reading and couldn’t go any farther  I’m not going to say what the last line said, but if I ever need to refer to it again I can.  It was at the end of Jackson and Patrick’s battle for pack master. 

I’m so tired I can’t even remember what I packed for lunch

The day was probably the best this week.  The twin’s parent’s left quickly.  The boys took thirty minutes to calm down, but they did better overall through out the day.  The kid on my case load ate lunch and snack for me today!  It’s the first time so far. 

When I got home Ashley was already there.  I started to fix dinner and she mentioned something about not cooking.  I told her about the places around the ice cream parlor and she requested the cantina b/c she love Mexican food.  She ordered the cheese dip that has a ‘buffalo’ twist.  It’s even more special b/c it’s served with fresh fried fur tortillas!  My Mexican weakness!  They serve three salsas with the basket of free tortilla chips.  One super hot red, a regular red, and a lime cilantro green.  I ordered the chicken quesadilla from the apps menu and it’s not anything to write home about.  I will like to give them props for the amazing way they serve their ‘salads’.  My quesadilla came with sour cream and guacamole.  I know big deal huh, well get this they serve it in an individual little fried flour tortilla bowl!  As mentioned a minute ago this is one of my Mexican weaknesses.  However it wasn’t the greatest so I didn’t indulge and eat it.  They also have one of the best guacamole’s I’ve eaten!  I saw on a neighboring table they ordered some and it was a massive quantity at least three avocado’s worth. 

Then we headed to the ice cream parlor.  The event started at seven and we got there at seven o’ five or so.  We ended up waiting an hour b/4 getting our ice cream, but totally worth it!  The place was giving away free ice cream, and it wasn’t just samples, but real servings.  I got a full sized homemade waffle cone with two half scoops which were the size of my one single serving, so it was almost like I had two my sized scoops!  I tasted several flavors and enjoyed almost all the ones I tried.  I ordered the beer/ale with apricots and the CSR suggested serving it over the dark chocolate and I did.  WON-DER-FUL!  Now I need to go to the Pied Pieper creamery and compare. 

The wait was amazing too.  The couple in front of us had gotten there five seconds before (I asked) and after conversing for a little bit I discovered the girl out of the couple was born in Paris, my hometown and lived there for three years.  Her grandpa owned a boat like place similar to Mansard.  Her last name is Crocker.  I’m going to try to remember to ask my dad if he knows any Crocker’s out of Paris.  Ashley and I chatted with them until nine when we had to leave so she could pack for her weekend trip to her boy toys out in the Boro. 

That’s it for today.  My high: getting free ice cream and I can’t believe I liked the beer hinted flavor.

Thanks for checking in on me for a minute…

WW

can I get a restart?

Today was another Bellini kind of day!  I woke up when DH left at 5:30 and my whole left leg was asleep.  So I rolled off it and onto the other side.  Then when I woke up at 6:00 the right side of my face was partially asleep.  I was having a dream and in the dream I had done something to the inside of my cheek. 

For bfast I had vanilla Kroger yogurt with mixed berries.  I packed my lunch (and later when I got a little hungry realized I left my apples at home).

Nothing interesting in the emails or blogs today.  I’ve noticed in some of my bloggers they all think their dad’s want pancakes for breakfast on father’s day.  I didn’t even think about bfast for my dad.

I was kind of in a fog all day, I think due to bad nights sleep as well as shoddy weather.  The first half hour of class was AWFUL.  Our twins parents stayed and talked until we had to go to the gym.  The more typical of the two was inconsolable except for being held, which we just weren’t going to do. 

I don’t really have too much to say about the day other than I was foggy all day.  I played with the babies and then the toddlers.  I was bad (food wise), and snacked on chex mix all day.  It was the cheddar flavor which I’ve never been a fan of; I’ve really disliked it honestly, but not today.  Today I was addicted and had trouble stopping.

Aaron actually worked till five today and got home about ten minutes till six.  We had his spaghetti burgers.  I had an apple and a piece of chocolate for dessert. 

I prepped my lunch for tomorrow and I’m hoping that I ‘behave’. 

I’m still trying to figure out what to make for dinner on Thursday and its kind of hard.  I want to make something inexpensive, tasty, and carb low.  It’s easy for me to do it for just me and Aaron, but it makes it a bit more challenging when another person is thrown in the mix.  However I’m looking forward to going to the ice cream shop and hope we get plenty of samples.

When I went to put in our Netflix I discovered that DH has sent back the wrong dvd and now I’ve got to call them again to resend the movie. 

High today: coming home

Thanks for taking a moment or two to hear about my boring day…

another kind of beginning

I’m not sure if I want to call today a good day, decent, or bad.  DH started his new job today and had to get up around 5:30 or so; he had to be at work at 6:00.  I stirred when his alarm went off and didn’t go back to full sleep mode. 

For bfast I had plain Greek yogurt.  This is the first time I’ve ever eaten it.  Its only 2PPS and the vanilla is 3PPS.  The plain one tasted a lot like sour cream but it was way thicker and a person gets to have way more for the same amount of points.  Sour cream is 2PPS for 2tbsp and the Greek yogurt is 2PPS for 6oz.  I cut up peaches to pair with the yogurt and it wasn’t sweet enough.  Then I stirred a splash of vanilla and it still wasn’t sweet enough.  I tried to eat a few bites with the extract, but it just wasn’t enjoyable.  I headed back to the kitchen and spooned a little bit of sugar free raspberry preserves.  The preserves made it tolerable.  I wouldn’t say it was fabulous, but I was able to eat it.  I have one more container of the plain and have a banana getting ripe.  I hope the banana makes the yogurt sweeter. 

For lunch I went ahead and packed a half a cup of dad’s super tasty fattening chicken and fruit salad.  I also had some veggies and three fruits (I didn’t eat one of them). 

I got to school a little early, checked my email, and called the insurance company.  The lady at the ins. Co. said I shouldn’t have to pay the first fee of 85.00 b/c it should be covered in my insurance, but the labs had my dote of birth wrong, however I have to pay the second bill b/c its considered more of a surgery than doctors meeting/appointment.  So I called the labs and the lady changed to the d.o.b.. 

After clocking in I was just so bleh that I couldn’t quite get into the swing of things.  I did make a new label for our new kid’s folder, but forgot to make a diaper label and remembered when mom sowed me his diapers (which were the wrong size, he wears a four and she brought in a three which he leaked out of after nap). 

The new kid had an expected kind of day.  The first hour was smooth.  When it was time to sit for circle time he wasn’t too fond of it (which we figured as much).  He actually got upset enough to lash out and bite my right forefinger knuckle and break the skin just a little.  He also got upset after circle for a little bit when he wanted to leave the room, but Maria and I wouldn’t let him.  Then he got upset at having to sit at the table for lunch (talked to mom at the end of the day and she said he eats in a high chair at home and if he ever has to sit at the table he doesn’t stay).  He also had a bit of trouble lying on his mat to take a nap (he sleeps in a crib at home and mom gives him a sippy cup to lay down with).  Overall he had a good day.  He’s never been in a socialization setting before.  He’s only been at home with mom for two years and has severe autism. 

Of course I was unable to do daily notes during nap time, but did get them done after two when all the kids were gone.  After getting my notes done I headed to the baby room.  It was probably the quickest hour and fifteen minutes in the last few months.  When a kid got picked up at 3:30, I was shocked at the time.  I thought the parent was there early. 

At four I headed to the toddlers, we had snack, and then took a walk.  When I got of at five Aaron didn’t answer his phone so I stayed at the school and read my newest few emails and sent one to Dawn o’ Connell, my TW director.  I had to ask about how to get back in to the business since I’ll be kicked out on Friday due to my lack of sales.  I also asked her about my friend’s warranty/replacement on her bottle. 

When I got home Izzie was super happy to see me and smelt so good.  Aaron gave her a bath after getting home from work.  Then I prepped my food for tomorrows: carrots, peppers, dip, cheese, leftover cherries, watermelon, and two apples.  I also cut up my veggies for my steak salad: red leaf lettuce, onion, bell peppers, steak, and the Italian parmesan dressing from Olive Garden.  The salad was GREAT, especially paired with my sparkling Shiraz.  For dessert I had chocolate WW ice cream.  I topped it with marshmallow crème and vanilla wafers.  The crème was yucky so I gave it to DH to eat.  I also had a couple of scoops of pb and then nuts way later.

DH had a good first day at work.  They headed to Pillsbury factory in M’boro.  Since he doesn’t have training for small fit places he worked on the outside.  He walked around the silo with a sledge hammer and banged it to knock loose the crusted sugar on the inside.  He and his team go t there on time, but the company (Pillsbury) wasn’t ready for them so he walked around for several hours before getting to work.  He had to wear a special outfit in order to keep the sugar from crusting on him (sugar crystals and sweat make icing). 

They didn’t finish the task and have to go back tomorrow to complete it.  He ate with his new coworkers at some place where he got a half cheese steak sub. 

That’s all for today;

High today:  my little guy had a decent first day.

Thanks for listening to my Monday again…

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day to all dads!  I didn’t do anything special today, I did it all yesterday.

Dad went to church this morning and I finally got caught up on all my blogs and viewed new oes about apples and bread pudding.  I’ve brought home a couple of ‘stale’ loaves of bread and have some ideas on what to make.

The day was peaceful enough.  We had filet’s with baked potatoes and salad for lunch around 12:30 or so.  I’d assumed we were going to have it for dinner, but dad wasn’t sure about what time we would leave.  The steak was FAB-U-LOUS!

I actually got involved and interested in gold today!  Too freakin’ strange.  We watched the U.S. Open and I understood and didn’t want dad to change the channel.  I almost had a glimpse of becoming a sort fan!  I even enjoyed the news man on the sport channel for a moment.  I wonder if I’ll be as interested next time we are there and he watches it? 

For dinner I had a little it of home-made chicken salad with more macaroni salad and an apple.  I had a donut for dessert. 

We drove home and when we got back Aaron showed me how to get to the court house for my meeting on Friday.  He sowed me where I can park for free and how I can walk to the courthouse.  I’m thankful /c last time I had to pay a ridiculous fee and I didn’t even get the task accomplished. 

That’s it, aren’t’ my Sunday’s boring?  Especially when I’ve been in Paris all day.

High today: ‘phatty’ filet!

Thanks for taking a moment at the end of your weekend…

a new recipe

So even though I stayed up a bit later last night I still got up at a decent hour: seven am.  It’s so nice to be able to just relax and take my time.

Upon waking I couldn’t help but partake of a fresh cup of coffee dad made.  I’ve been craving it for a while but haven’t felt like making any.  One b/c I don’t keep our house as cool as dad does and second I just don’t feel like doing it.  It’s not one of those things I need like some peeps who need the caffeine.  I just enjoy the flavor. 

I sat around and had a couple of cups and then got up to shower.  After showering he and I went up town to Kroger and the donut shop.  He had to go to Kroger to get some of the best macaroni salad to go with our dinner (BBQ chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, and of course the salad). 

Dad bought lots of wonderful, yeasty, fried, fattening donuts.  He got three each of four kinds: bear claws, apple fritters, long johns, and butter rolls.  The bear claws are a bit different than the kinds you get a grocery store.  The ones at the stores are pastry like with cream cheese or fruit preserve like stuff with cream cheese drizzle (almost like a Danish).  But these are bigger than your hand, almost the size of a bear’s print!  The outside dough is crispy, the inside is still a bit doughy, and there’s an apple cinnamon filling in the middle.  These are my favorite from this little shop.  To make them even better dad asked the peeps to make fresh ones and they did.  So when we got home they were still warm on the inside!  It was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! especially with my cup of black coffee. 

Then we went in the kitchen and started our cooking/baking session.  Dad bought two whole roasting chickens and instructed me on the best way to quarter em’.  I thought about typing this out, but that’s a bunch of mumble jumble for you to ‘hear’/read, especially if you already know how to do it, so let’s hope that I remember in my mind.  He put the dark meat in a brine solution and took the four breasts to bake to make chicken salad. 

While that was baking I played on the net and tried to get caught up on my 700+ back read blog entries as well as tried to find some recipes to include apples (since I bought two bags for so cheap). 

After the chicken was done baking I got in the kitchen and made my pie for Father’s day.  I got out all the ingredients and dad still didn’t have a clue what I was making.  It wasn’t until I asked for a zester that he had an idea.  After he figured out that it was one of two items I had to ask for help.  It took around four hours to make the pie, but that includes making the meringue using a hand blender, instead of the kitchen aid; letting the filling set, washing dishes while filling cools, and rewhipping meringue that ‘fell’.  If I’d used a kitchen aid and only whipped the whites once I think I could have knocked off close to an hour (as well as find a way to let the filling chill more quickly).  After a while, when I went back to the pie there was a sugar liquid that started to ooze out the side due to the stupid meringue collapsing. 

In the middle of making the pie dad and I made a team effort to create the chicken salad.  He cut the celery and cubed the chicken while I made the mayo mix, cut the grapes and apples.  This was around two o’clock, which I thought was strange considering we were going to eat dinner in a little bit.  Nobody, but me ate any of the chicken salad and I only had a little less than half a cup.  Dad said he expected us to take some home which I’m kind of weary about b/c it’s got full fat mayo, miracle whip, and sour cream.  I know it’s going to taste better, but my waist line and body doesn’t appreciate the extra fat, especially after such a rich week (the vineyard, wine tasting, donuts, pie, full fat food at dads).  If we take some home I really hope that Aaron will eat some. 

Dinner was as amazing as we thought it was going to be.  The pie tasted amazing, way to go me, but I think the liquid from the meringue made the filling run instead of gel like it supposed to. 

We watched The Mechanic and I am Four.  I enjoyed both movies.  I figured the end of the Mechanic before it was over.  And I think the other movie left an opening to make a second one; which is strange b/c I don’t remember it being in theaters.  It seems like a decent B-rate movie, which makes me wonder if I should call it a B-rate?

I also tried to get caught up on all my blogs, but this laptop is being super slow so I only made it through 500, 200 more to go.  I also had another tab opened looking at apple recipes which might have slowed it down a bit too.  I’m a bit disappointed with the apple recipes.  The majority of them are either applesauce, applesauce themed, or extremely fall themed with roots and soups.  So why were these two varieties on sale?

I’m so ready to pass out.

High today: dad and I in the kitchen and making a successful pie!

Thanks for taking a minute on your weekend…

TGIF

Today was a whirlwind of a day.  I woke up an hour early and stayed up.  I asked DH to bring my cell phone, which has my alarm, to the bedroom b/c I wasn’t in decent attire to walk through the living room with our roommate home, but he forgot.  So when I woke up at five and reached for a phone that wasn’t anywhere near (not to mention the alarm was on vibrate as usual) I just stayed up and turned on the laptop.  I know that’s way too early to be on a computer but I really wanted to find a recipe to recreate Edwards lemon meringue pie for Father’s day for my dad (the Edwards one gives him awful heartburn/indigestion). 

After forty five minutes of searching I got up to shower and run through the regular routines.  Bfast was easy since I cut the fruit last night.  All I had to do was scoop yogurt on top.  Packing lunch was just as easy since I cut it too. 

I got to work with a few minutes to spare for email checking.  I saw a social deal I want to get DH for his bday: glass blowing class in Franklin. 

I had a busy day working.  The first half hour I got to do a little bit of work.  Around eight forty or so the DR realized she forgot to get donuts foe Dad’s so I offered to get it for her (she was extremely flustered).  I did paperwork for an hour, got to have my Friday phone call with a parent, and sat in on an intake meeting.  Then I went back to working.  I actually got to work on paperwork for about an hour and a half.  I spent my dad between the infants and the toddlers. 

While I was in the Rascals room (which I’ve probably referred to as the Amazon) I read what she did for father’s day: an adorable little card with a questionnaire she asked the kids and filled in the blanks with the kids answers for the dads to read; it also had a little saying on the back, but I didn’t get a chance to read it. 

During the last half hour or so I sat and chatted with the AT in the infant’s room.  We talked about cuteness of babies and jaded parents and sexual relations btwn the people based upon appearance.  She commented that she liked this side of me, which I thought was strange; it’s the real side I just don’t show it at work b/c I never know who I can trust after things that have happened in the past. 

While working I did find a recipe to print and try tomorrow, can’t wait!

After I got home I put away the clean laundry that’s been waiting on me forever!  Then I packed my bags, put away clean dishes, and washed the dirty ones, before heading to Paris (which we almost did get to do b/c our roommate isn’t going to be in town this weekend to take care of Izzie, but luckily Aaron’s aunt is going to do it for us). 

Once we got into Camden we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up the lemons for my dads pie.  But they didn’t have a single one!  I did get the pie shell, some Greek yogurt (a new brand too: Athenos, as well as a staple of Dannon) and two kiwi’s.  Then we headed to the Wal-Mart in Paris.  They didn’t have lemons either, but I did check out their yogurt cooler and it had a four pack of cherry cheesecake made by WW.  Since I had to have lemons we headed to Kroger.  They had a three pound bag for four bucks.  I also got two three pound bags of apples; one was Fuji for 2.50 and gala for 1.00.  They also had black grapes on sale for 1.28 peer lb, so I got some of them too. 

When we finished shopping, read *found lemons*, we headed to the house.  As I was turning onto our road dad called. 

We’ve been here for an hour or so and I’m ready to pass out.

High today: getting to come to Paris for father’s day!          

Thanks for listening today…