Happy Halloween!

Some quick pics of our Halloween weekend. Thanks for visiting, Meme & Big Daddy!

The Great Pumpkin (Jackson Burns!)

Drumroll please!!! JBird's 1st Pumpkin Carving!!!

First we cut the top out...

Then Jacin scooped out the guts and started carving.

Yay! We're done!!

Now on to the next event...

The God Who Sees

Tonight, I'm reminded of Hagar, the woman in the Bible who had Abraham's son and was then kicked out. She and her son left with nowhere to go. In the middle of the desert, she cried out to God, calling Him "the God Who Sees." Even though everyone else had forsaken her, God still saw her and proved faithful.

I just talked to a dear friend for the 1st time in about 5 years. I have missed her SO MUCH! We spent time together when I was in the ministry at Calvary, and then she and her family moved. Thanks to facebook, we were able to reconnect, exchange phone numbers, and catch up. Though I haven't seen her or her family in a few years, I knew they were going through some difficult things. I wasn't able to get in touch with her through email or phone, so I prayed. At the time, I wondered if I would ever get back in touch with them again, yet they were still heavy on my heart. I prayed and prayed for them. Tonight, I got to hear how God answered my prayers. They have gone through some extremely trying things, but they have come out on the other side praising God.

I'm so thankful that we serve the God Who Sees. Even when we are separated from loved ones or helpless in times of difficulty, God Sees. He never turns away, never gets distracted, never sleeps. Praise the God Who Sees.

Writing Skills Meet Local Dialect

So today I'm grading my students' most recent writing assignment. I keep running into this word that I fail to recognize. Multiple students are using it and spelling it the same way, but I don't know the meaning. I'm starting to get paranoid about not knowing a word that my 7th graders know when... it hits me. The word in question is Accorse. If you're like me, you're thinking... huh? Acorns? A course? What the heck!?!? Well, allow me to translate. Accorse = Of course. Also, just to clue you in, fill = feel, wont = want, and becaws = because. Now you're ready to read the writing of 7th grade Northwest Georgian students.  When you tell them to "sound it out" to determine a word's spelling, they take it to heart. They write like they speak - slow as molasses, sweet as sugar, and country as a turnip green. :) And if you've heard ME talk lately, you know it's catching.

Thrivin??? More Like Barely Survivin!!

Well, things are getting desperate. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I have VERY FEW outfits that fit right now. Even though I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, apparently my body fluff  has shifted and my butt, hips, and lower belly are bigger now (I didn't even know that was possible...). I tried Weight Watchers and got discouraged. Now I'm back to working out at the gym, which I love. For the DIET part (I detest that word), I am trying Thrive. Many of my friends at school have used it to drop pounds in a 3 month period, so I thought I'd try it. A friend is teaching me the Thrive plan at school for free, so I don't have to pay for the program. Nice.

So the 1st week is supposedly the hardest. The only thing you can have for meals is a meat and green veggie combo. Breakfast and (ONE!!!) snack are the same daily. So this is kinda what the week is shaping up to look like:

BFAST: 1 cup of Special K Protein Cereal with 1 cup Skim Milk (the cereal kinda reminds me of cardboard) And NO COFFEE. Yeah right. The authors of Thrive have obviously never taught Middle School. I'm cheating here - can't do without my coffee.
SNACK: Mini Bag of Fat Free Popcorn (which, again, tastes like cardboard)
DINNER: A meat & a green veggie (See below for the EXCITING menu.)
MON: Grilled chicken & spinach (which was actually very filling and yummy)
TUES: Tilapia and Broccolli (I really do try to like Tilapia, but I just don't.)
WED: Soft Tacos (we can "splurge" and include a Double Fiber tortilla. Yay.)
THURS: Omelettes (Egg Whites, Peppers, White Cheese)
FRI: Steak & Green Beans (I'm missing my baked potato! But I must abide by the Thrive motto, "If it moos or oinks, you can't eat a potato with it." Geez.)

So, as you can probably guess, I'm not having a lot of fun. Chocolate is not on the list, and I'm living on the edge of sanity. I've really considered just going to work naked. Honestly, who needs clothes when you can have chocolate?

Sheet Washing Event

So this weekend, JBird had a yucky cough. On Friday night, he hacked and hacked and cried and cried. At about 2am I brought him to our bed, where HE slept much better (while I sat awake all night). We got up Saturday morning to find that he had peed through his diaper and soaked our bed.

Sheet Washing Event #1.

Then, once I had put fresh sheets on our bed, JBird and I napped together Saturday afternoon. When we got up from our nap, I realized he had once again peed through his diaper onto our sheets.

Sheet Washing Event #2.

Saturday night, right before company came over, Rascal threw up on my den carpet. Geez. Then at bed time, JBird gave a repeat performance - coughing, crying, snuggling in our bed, and soaking our sheets. Again.

Sheet Washing Event #3.

This afternoon, I came home with a migraine and tried to get the Bird to nap with me. The only thing I got from my attempts was a large puddle of "twice as nice" on my sheets.

Oh well. I'll just sleep on dirty sheets tonight. My washer and my maid are worn out.
And I'm also considering giving JBird fewer ounces of juice/water during the day. Looks like I've got to choose between 2 evils - constipation or gallons of pee. And just look at that face... not a care in the world!

Sir Pumpkin PeePee, preparing to douse the couch. 

Tuesday's Tidbits

The last 2 days have been absolutely NON.STOP. Yesterday, I went to work, got a hair cut, worked out at the gym, came home, cooked dinner (new recipe - chicken pot pie!), did dishes, and put Jackson to bed. Then I made lunches and bottles for the next day and went to bed (FINALLY!). Today, I went to work, picked up Jackson from DayCare, went walking with a friend, went to WalMart for my weekly torture trip (and saved $30 with coupons!), picked up dinner (there just wasn't time to cook!!), drove home (with a screaming baby in the back seat), unloaded groceries, fed JBird, and fed Jacin (and inhaled my own dinner so I could soothe a fussy baby). Then Jacin left for small group and JBird and I had some much-needed "MommyBird & BabyBird time." We played, read a book, took a bath, and then he hit the sack. Jacin just walked back in the door, so it's time to get off the computer and be social. :) Washing bottles, making up new bottles for the next day, and packing lunches for the next day is our talk time every evening. I'm so thankful to have a husband who helps out around the house!

Before I go, I have to share 2 of the MANY reasons why I LOVE my job!!!
#1: Today I started a new unit on NonFiction. I started the discussion by asking, "Can anyone explain to me the difference between NonFiction texts and Expository writing?" One of my advanced students promptly raised her hand and responded, "Well, I'm not sure about what it has to do with writing, but isn't an expository something you stick up your butt?" It took me more than a few seconds to recover. "Ummm, well, I'm pretty sure what you're thinking of is a suppository." Needless to say, it took a while for me to regain the class' attention.

#2: While reading a novel aloud in class, I stopped and pointed out an example of a paradox. "Can someone tell me what a paradox is?" One of my gifted students immediately raised his hand and replied with a straight face, "yep. It's what you plow your field with." I just stared at him. "What? Can you repeat that please?" Then, while he was mid-sentence in his repetition, I suddenly understood his pun. And I started laughing. (It's scary how fast a middle-schooler can think.) "Ohhhh, a paradox is a pair of ox, huh? Haha. Very punny," I smiled back. "Punny?" What's that mean?" he quipped. Sigh. Oh well. Moving on...

Pumpkin Patch

Well, lets see. Last week was full of doctors appointments. I went to the pediatrician for my 6 month check up and weighed 17 pounds and measured 27 inches long. I also went to Atlanta to have blood work done at the Hematologist. That wasn't too fun. We waited 2 hours, and then 2 mean ladies stuck me 4 times and took lots of my blood. Mom almost passed out, too. We're glad that's over. Then I got to spend 2 days with Meme & Big Daddy. It was great! On Friday night, Mom and Dad came to Gwinnett and we got to see EVERYONE - Meme & Big Daddy, GreatGran & Quinc., Nana & Papa, Uncle Zack & Aunt Aud, and Aunt Laney (well, almost everyone - we didn't get to see Richard). We had fun! Sunday we went to the pumkin patch! I thought the pumpkins were very interesting, so I have on my serious face.

Inspecting the pumpkin

Hmmmm.

Where are they taking me??

This feels funny!

And now I'm ready for a great week! I must admit that I'm a bit fussy, so I hope the ladies at DayCare are ready to love on me lots tomorrow (but seriously, who could resist?). I think I might be getting in some teeth! Hope YOU have a great week, too!
- JBird

Even though I'm the Mommy now...

Even though I'm the Mommy now, there are still days when I want my Mom to come take care of me. Today was one of those days. Jacin shared his stomach virus with me. I was up multiple times last night, ran a fever all day today, and endured crazy stomach cramps. When it was time to go home from work (yep, you read that right, I went to work... and probably infected all my 100 middle schoolers), I had a migraine. The thought of picking up JBird and going home to chores had me in tears. I wasn't sure I could do it. I was ready to drop. (This was one of the many times I wished my Mom lived closer. I just needed someone to baby ME!) On top of that, Jacin had to work late and couldn't help out with Jackson. Thankfully, Roxane picked up the Bird from Daycare and took care of him for a while so I could take some headache meds and sleep for an hour or so. I'm still not feeling great, but I'm better. Now if JBird could get rid of his fever (but at least he doesn't have vomiting or diarrhea... yet... I'll count my blessings).

Fall at the Lake

This weekend we spent a few days at the lake. It was a little warmer than I wanted it to be, but it was still beautiful. The down time with my boys was wonderful, too. We just hung out and did a lot of nothing. It was perfect. Here are a few highlights...

We went to Merciers and bought some applies and pies.

We tried some prunes (but JBird obviously wasn't a fan).

We played A LOT.

We went exploring outside.

And we read lots of books.

It was a great weekend. We feel so blessed to have such a beautiful place to go and relax. So what did you do this weekend?

This weekend

This weekend Mom and Dad went to a wedding in Dahlonega, and I stayed with Granna and PawPaw.

Then when we all got back home together, I helped Dad cut the grass. It was a little chilly outside, so I didn't help for long.

Then Mom and I went inside for a snack. I LOVE green beans! Yummm.

Besides being constipated, it was a great weekend! I love weekends with my Mommy and Daddy!
- JBird

Never Again...

Friday, I thought through our weekend and realized we had A LOT to do on Saturday. I had to clean the house, do laundry, pack Jackson's overnight bag, and leave for an out-of-town wedding by 1pm. I usually go to WalMart on Saturdays, but due to the business of the upcoming day, I decided to go Friday night. NEVER AGAIN. Half the items on my list were out of stock. The place was even busier than normal, which I didn't think was possible. My toes were stepped on, a box of cereal was dropped on my head, and my buggy was rammed more times than I can count. I waited in line for at least 20 minutes (not sure quite how long it actually was - I fell asleep). Apparently, WalMart is the place to hang out on Friday nights in Calhoun (kinda like Ingles in BlueRidge). Geez. Now I know to stick to my Saturday morning trip time. So, now that all the groceries are bought and I've (barely) survived another WalMart trip, here's my menu for this week:

SUNDAY: Homemade Pizzas (Canadian Bacon/Pineapple for me; Pepperoni for Jacin)

MONDAY: Grilled Chicken Strip Salads

TUESDAY: Steaks, Sweet Potatoes, and veggies

WEDNESDAY: Soup & Grilled Cheese

THURSDAY: Chicken Pot Pie (trying something new!)

FRIDAY - MONDAY: At the lake!!! Who knows what we'll eat! Definitely some apples and fried pies.

What are YOU having this week?