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...