Sorry

I know I haven't updated in awhile, but I've been busy shopping for gold stretch pants and a bedazzled eyepatch.

There's something in the air...

Meet Gertrude.



We found Gertrude in the 90% off bin at Michael's a few years ago. She cost a whopping $2.50! James had to take her home with us. He even buckeled her into the back seat for the ride home.



Then he started posing her in random places and taking pictures of her.



She's really become part of the family.



During the Halloween season, Gerturde sits on a chair on our front porch so she can greet all our visitors. Today, she and Poppy decided to spend some quality time together.



How sweet!

(Gertrude wants everyone to know that she loves visiting other people, so if you'd like her as a guest just let us know!)

So...October, is it?

When I bought our U2 tickets back in May, October seemed so far away. Now we're already half way through the month! Sheesh. I'm getting old if I'm constantly commenting on how fast time is going by! Wait, let me chase those pesky kids off my lawn. :P

So what's going on around here? School is good for all of us involved with a school. Madeline is loving her guitar lessons and her teacher says she is getting better every week. Isabella and I go over to the library for a "big kids" craft time while Madeline is at her lesson, and I'm consistently amazed at her "out of the box" creativity. She *definitely* gets that from James!

I've settled very nicely into the preschool year. I love my aide (she's a kindred spirit for sure!) and my kiddos are a fun challenge. It's definitely a different dynamic than last year, but I'm becoming a better teacher because of *this* class, and that's always a good thing. We're heading into the Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas AXIS OF EVIL (she said with tongue firmly in cheek) where the kids will be hopped up on sugar, consistently sleep deprived and totally out of any normal sort of routine. On the flipside, it *is* a very fun time of year, and I'm looking forward to it (for the most part).

James' VPP Program tenure in the Safety shop ended at the end of September, so he's now back to his regular Leaderman duties in the paint shop. While in the Safety Shop he rewrote and/or revamped over 200 procedure programs. He really impressed his supervisor and his supervisor's boss (i.e. the Colonel at the base in charge of the entire Maintenance Center) and I'm really, really proud of his hard work! He was also elected as Union Chaplain and as a Union Steward, which basically means he gets to say all the prayers at the Union meetings. I told him I thought it meant he should get his union dues reimbursed to him, but they didn't go for that idea!

All in all, things are pretty chill. It's almost my bedtime i.e. my favorite time of day! James just walked in the door from YM, so with that I'll say adios for the time being.

Last post dedicated to the awesomeness of U2, I promise

James and I are slowly coming off our high from this week's awesomeness. We both agree that it was the MOST FUN we've ever had together, including our honeymoon, so that's saying something.

With our run of luck this year I kept waiting for something to spoil our plans but really, things couldn't have been more perfect. Our hotel was lovely and confortable, MARTA got us where we needed to be when we needed to be there, the Cheesecake factory was yummy (Even though we had to walk 2 miles to get there- The MARTA train let us off on the right street, and we didn't realize how far away from the station the restaurant was or that a bus could have dropped us off practically in front of it! We made sure we road the bus *back* to the station!).

Of course, the best part of all was the concert. We got there about 6:30 for a 7:00 start, but Muse (the opening act) didn't go on until almost 7:30, and U2 didn't go on until 9:00. We had a fun time watching all the drunk people (including one lady in super high heels who had five beers before the show even started- we were sure she was going to go over the railing at some point when her "dancing" got a little out of control.)

U2 definitely needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Bono's voice sounded amazing, and the show itself was pretty incredible. You could see the band from all points in the arena (hence this being the 360 Degrees tour) and they had HUMONGOUS video screens so you didn't miss a thing. Technologically it is pretty dadgum impressive!

U2 played for a little over two hours, and the time just flew by. We didn't want it to end! The best part was the encore where they played With or Without You, and James put his arms around me and we danced together. *sniffs*

We ended up walking back to our hotel from the Georgia Dome (just a little over a mile). The night was just gorgeous the skyline was beautiful, and it was so much fun to be walking with probably 1000+ people up International Blvd to various hotels. All in all we had the time of our lives, and it's something we'll never forget.

*Happy Sigh*

Two One Day MARTA Passes: $17



Hotel and valet parking at Hyatt Regency Atlanta: $78






Dinner and two pieces of Cheesecake from the Cheescake Factory: $35



Listening to U2 play most favorite song EVER live with your most favorite person in the world's arms around you as you both sing along: PRICELESS

This.

This right here is why U2 is amazingly awesome.



This, too.



And then there's this.



This time tomorrow James and I will be with Bono and the boys in the ATL.

*SQUEE!!1!!!!!!11!1!!!!1!*

IT'S COMING!!! OUR TRIP TO ATLANTA TO SEE U2 LIVE AND IN PERSON IS ALMOST HERE!!!!11!!!1!! I DON'T THINK I CAN CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT MUCH LONGER!!!!!

(And if you try and rain on my parade, NANCY, by saying "The anticipation is greater than the realization" then I will set you up for a nursing home so fast the drool won't even have time to collect on your hairy chin!)

In other news, how good looking is Larry Mullen, Jr??


VERY good looking, I'd say. They years have been kind to my favorite drummer.

Lucky Number 13

(The day after we got engaged)

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

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

- ee cummings

Madeline's Birthday

Being the lazy mother that I am, I don't do big birthday parties for the girls every year. We do big parties (i.e. lots of friends and mucho dinero spent) on what we consider THE BIGGIES- 8, 12 and 16. So birthdays around here consist of their choice of dinner and cake and then presents with the family (and which ever extended family happens to be around at the time!).

This year Madeline asked if some friends could come over for dinner and then spend the night. She caught me at a weak moment and I said yes. We ended up with two friends for dinner and one friend who stayed the night on the 11th (the day before her actual birthday).

Madeline requested homemade pizza for dinner and then ice cream sundaes for dessert. On her actual birthday she wanted nachoes and chocolate chip cheesecake. The girl has pretty good taste. ;)

Her big present was a guitar. The music teacher at her school teaches a free guitar class to Fifth graders after school once a week. She actually got the guitar as an early gift because the class started before her birthday. But she also got an American Girl Hair Care Center, which she had been wanting. She told James and I later that her birthday was perfect, and I guess as a parent you can't ask for more than that, can you??

My Husband Is Made of Awesome

Three days after I met James, he told me he loved me.

Fours days after I met James, he told me that he wanted to marry me.

At this point I wasn't even sure I wanted to date him, let alone *marry* him.

Five days after I met James, he fixed my car for me.

It was at this point I seriously began to consider the marriage potential. After all, a man who can FIX THINGS is very, very handy.

Yesterday my sound judgment was reaffirmed (not for the first time!) as he was able to replace the EGR Valve in my van in under 30 minutes, something that a mechanic would have charged us hundreds of dollars to do, mind you. It's not the first time he's worked mechanical miracles, and I'm sure it won't be the last time.

It makes up for the unfortunate incident that happened on Sunday when he thought it would be fine to move this bookcase.


This bookcase that is full of my preschool books. This bookcase that I spent a WEEK over the summer organizing alphabetically and by theme. This bookcase that is a cheap, not-at-all-well-made Target bookcase.

This bookcase that proceeded to have one whole side fall off of it when he tried to scootch it across the carpet. This is what happened.



*sigh*

200+ books in a big pile on the floor.

At least he was able to put his handyman skills to use and repair the bookcase and REINFORCE IT WITH MONSTER SCREWS. All is forgiven.

There's hope for me yet...

As I was driving home from school last week I came across this song on the radio as I was flipping through the channels. I don't go much for the 'easy-listening Christian rock' genre, but hearing this song two days in a row was too much of a coincidence to be ignored.



The message was something that I very much needed to hear right now at this time in my life. Far too often I lose sight of the "big picture" as I get caught up in this earthly experience my spiritual being is having. Sometimes God sends you an answer to a prayer that you didn't know you were praying.

The Swayze

Some might say he was at his best in "Dirty Dancing". My mom would probably vote for "Ghost". But to me, he'll always be Adrian.

Patrick Swayze - Chippendale
by tressage

*Nods*

Kindness may begin with me, but it's a fact that some people are out of their ever-lovin' mind.

Happy Birthday, Madeline!!

This is not the blog post you're looking for

I'm not really blogging here. It's more like I'm giving you all the reasons I'm not blogging. Like-

...School is in full swing and it's keeping us all busy.

...I'm darting between doctor's appointments and family functions and guitar lessons (Madeline, not me. And "Free Guitar Lessons From the School Music Teacher Once a Week For 5th Graders Who Make the Commitment" is Reason #428 while I love the school the girls are at.)

...There are books I'd rather be reading.

...There are TV shows I'd rather be watching.

...There is sleep I'd rather be, err, sleeping.

So, like I said, I'm not really blogging here. But! To make it up to you, I will leave you with pictures of two of my minions washing and vacuuming my car of Labor Day. In the legacy of my father (who always made up clean out the garage on Labor Day, rather than driving the short 30 minutes to the nearest beach) we are not one of those families who jet off for a fun three day weekend. Instead we stay home, do laundry and clean the cars.

"...But so many more so happy"

September has come, it is hers
Whose vitality leaps in the autumn,
Whose nature prefers
Trees without leaves and a fire in the fire-place.
So I give her this month and the next
Though the whole of my year should be hers who has
rendered already
So many of its days intolerable or perplexed
But so many more so happy;
Who has left a scent on my life, and left my walls
Dancing over and over with her shadow
Whose hair is twined in all my waterfalls
And all of London littered with remembered kisses.

- Louis MacNeice, Autumn Journal

The Very Hungry Preschool Teacher

So recently I've been going through a lot of some medical things, and my digestive system has been whacked out. Normally I wouldn't complain about not having any appetite, but given that I've had an abnormal amount of stress and I'm prone to ulcers (the first one coming after I got married, quit my job, dropped out of college and moved 400 miles while driving a U-Haul truck all by myself from Jacksonville to Atlanta, all within the space of three days) and hate vomitting in general (thank you six months of day-and-night "morning" sickness times two pregnancies), it's just been easier not to eat than to deal with the effects of eating later on.

Now that I'm enjoying better living through chemicals, my appetite is returning. With a vengeance. In fact, I'm STARVING right now, even though in the past three hours I've eaten a Turkey and Cheddar Cheese Lunchable, a small bag of cheetos, a chocolate donut and some leftover lasagna, along with a 12 oz Pepsi and lots of water. And still all I can think about is "WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT FOR DINNER AND HOW SOON CAN I START EATING IT??!?!?!?!?" (Right now it's a toss-up between Popeye's Chicken- for which I have a very good coupon- or Hawaiian Haystacks. Each are immensly enjoyable in their own way. Decisions, decisions.)

I just took a break to eat an apple. It wasn't as satisfying as Hawaiian Haystacks or Popeye's Chicken will be, I can assure you.

I feel like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, eating my way through the week. But then again, the caterpillar eventually turned into a beautiful butterfly. Maybe I'm just building up the energy to burst out of my own little cocoon and turn into something more beautiful.

Hello Internet Peeps

Other than the annoucement that Tim Tams would be sold in the US again, nothing has been happening around here. Well, school has started again, but I can't say that 'excited' is the word I would use to describe that event. I like the lazy days of summer (and fall and winter and spring, for that matter!). I like doing things with the girls, and I can't say that I'm happy when they go merrily on their way at the beginning of every school year. But times marches on, even if I'm kicking and screaming the whole way.







School started for me, a well. I have a bigger class this year which means I have to make a few adjustments, and I also have a new aide for the year (my former aide's son is in my class this year, so we've been split up for the time being). My new aide is very nice, but it's always an adjustment working with someone new.

Other than that, life is plugging along in the Tree Fort. What's new with you?

Oh Happy Day!!!!

TIM TAM COOKIES ARE COMING BACK TO THE US!!!!

Have Blogger's Ennui. Be back soon.