The Low Down

1. I like my name written better than when it is said. 2. I’m a red head not an orange head!! 3. I griped at a store manager for the first time today…Stroller Rights Unite!!! 4. I am obsessed with checking my email, cell phone and blogs. 5. My favorite alcoholic drink is an Amaretto Sour and my fav beer is Bud Light 6. Ever been thrown up on in a hair salon, I have…today!!! 7. Most songs remind me of a person or event in my life. 8. Phrases I use too often…”Sweet…Whatever…That’s good stuff…WTF…Geez” 9. I have broken my right arm twice. 10. There are some things I would have done differently at my wedding. 11. I hate running because I need protective face gear. 12. I love gummy smiles…babies/oldies doesn’t matter. 13. David Schwimmer is HOT!!! 14. One of my fears is being stuck out in the middle of the ocean with no raft. 15. My biggest fear is losing one of my kids. 16. Need sandpaper…just use the bottom of my heel. Want to massage my feet? Neither does Justin! 17. Even when I was my skinniest I still had thunder thighs. 18. If I was a Sex and the City character, I would be a cross between Charlotte and Carrie. 19. Aiden is named after Aidan on SATC. 20. I would suck at Jeopardy but would walk away with the jackpot on Wheel of Fortune. Watch out Sajak!!! 21. I love tulips and hydrangeas 22. I want to get my teeth whitened. 23. Sometimes when I tell a really funny story or joke I get laughing to hard that I can’t continue and end up with tears streaming down my face while my shoulders heave silently. Then when I finally compose myself enough to finish the joke or story people are disappointed with how unfunny it actually is. 24. I will laugh inside and sometimes out loud at something several minutes later even if it was only funny to me. 25. I started liking Pearl Jam after me and Justin started dating. 26. If I could go anywhere in the world, I would find a little French county cottage on some land. 27. I wish I could lead a double life as a SATC character. 28. Sometimes I wonder why I rushed to get through college. Those were the days when I could be careless, free, and wild and give the excuse that I was in college. What’s my excuse now? J/K 29. Why did I let one interior designing class frighten me away from that career? 30. I hate soap scum and hard water stains. Like keeping the bathroom is hard enough?!? 31. I miss my friends from high school…especially Heather. Where are you? 32. My first job was at Subway. 33. Geez, I’m only a third of the way done. 34. I am not opposed to plastic surgery i.e. breast lift, tummy tuck, and full body lipo. 35. I wore braces for only 18 months. 36. I don’t really like my nose it is too pointed when looking at my profile. 37. My iPod was stolen this week by one of my students. 38. I really love my iPod…it is my little piece of heaven on earth. 39. For Christmas I want a new phone (camera phone), photo pendant necklace, iTunes card, new purse, and some new jewelry. 40. Don’t worry Justin I’ll take care of my gifts for Christmas. 41. I could have really applied my self and gotten a better degree. 42. Celeb Heart Throbs: Josh Lucas, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Matthew McConaughy, John Corbett, dirty boy Colin Farrell and of course David Schwimmer 43. I stole #23 from another blog...why reinvent the wheel she said it perfectly. 44. I made 7 layer dip last night but cheated and only made 5 layers. Shameful I know!! 45. I have been caught in a lie before and I have lied and not been caught. 46. My nickname is Red. 47. My nicknames for my kids: Aiden Smaiden, Aiden Paularino, Bubsy, LilliBug, Babogirl 48. I’m already on my second Smirnoff since I started this list. 49. When I was a little girl, I used to sit in my closet for hours and play Barbies. 50. I still have all my Barbies and even some in boxes for Lillie when she gets older. 54. When is someone going to invent a cleaning fairy who comes at night and magically cleans and picks up your house while you sleep? 55. We eat out about 4 out of the 7 days of the week. No wonder I have hit a plateau on my weight loss. 56. Speaking of weight loss I have lost 30 pounds so far…yes that means that either I gained 5 or I weighed on a “skinny” day. 57. Are you getting sick of reading about me yet? 58. I am spoiled by my parents and my hubs. 59. I love milk-1% 60. I am a picky eater. 61. I don’t like trying new restaurants. 62. I have stolen several large ornaments off a mall Christmas tree. 63. My first car was a Pontiac Grand Prix. 64. I sucked my thumb until I was in 3rd grade. 65. Worst household chore…scrubbing the stove. 66. Second worst…laundry. There’s some many steps-wash, dry, fold, put away. That process can take up to a week sometimes. 67. I’m an 80s music junkie. 68. If I were an animal, I would be a lioness. 69. Am I done yet? I am doing quite a bit of soul searching. 70. In a former life I was a back up dancer. 71. I really hate onions. Do they really add that much flavor? 72. First wish-Be Skinny FOREVER! 73. Second wish-Be happy FOREVER! 74. Third wish-Be rich FOREVER! (in that order) 75. I definitely don’t want more than three kids. Too many faces to remember and too many hands to clean. I’m perfectly content with my 2 little faces and 4 little hands!! 76. I was looking for winter clothes in my closet and saw that I have a very small collection. I couldn’t figure out why. Then I had a lightbulb go off…I’ve been pregnant the past 2 winters and my winter wardrobe is accompanied with a tag that screams maternity. 77. My current wardrobe does have some name brand clothing in it…if you consider Target, Walmart and Kohl’s name brand. 78. How do you lose 30 pounds and only go down a size in your shirts and stay in the same size in pants? 79. I just realized that my pants are looser which means that 30 pounds ago I was looking HOT in these pants!!! Sense my sarcasm? 80. When I was a kid, we would go to Luby’s I would order the same things everytime. Mac –n- cheese, jello, roll, and chocolate milk. 81. Justin and I had our first big fight after getting married at Christmas (2 months since D-Day). I don’t even remember what it was about. 82. Our last fight? Don’t remember because we don’t see each other enough to fight. 83. I don’t have any tattoos. 84. I wouldn’t mind having one though. 85. Maybe some claw marks on my chest!! Never mind I already have some stretch marks there that resemble claw marks. 86. I love fall but hate fallen leaves. 87. Theory on Beauty: You either get beauty or body. Most women who have both is because she have gone to extreme measures. 88. I used to buy purses all the time. I have been searching for a purse for about a month now and can’t find one I like. 89. Why does 27 sound old to me? Some people wish they could be 27 again. 90. I think I am good at my job. 91. I have regrets for things I have done. 92. I have regrets for things I haven’t done. 93. I can’t believe I’m almost at 100. That’s dedication if you are still reading this! 94. My fav color is pink. 96. I just realized I use this “…” a lot in my typing. 97. I have changed 3 diapers, fed my two kids and myself, sent 3 emails, drank 2 drinks, started a movie, made a phone call and taken pics of lillie since I started this list.

When it Rains...It Pours!!!

Today should have been a Monday instead of a Wednesday. It was an all around crappy day. Lots of little things happened today that made today one of those days that you wish you could have just crossed off the calendar
#1...The football coached didn't send my TAKS kids until the period was almost over. It really annoys me that they feel like their football practice is more important than sending the kids to our class. The problem is that the kids see the coaches not care about our class therefore they don't care and give me and Gary a hard time in the short 25 minutes we have them. I could go on and on about this but I will spare you.
#2…My second period class is driving me nuts. We have been doing solving equations now for 5 days. I still have kids who are clueless as to how to start working it. They have plenty of opportunities to get help and they are too lazy to do it. My third period class is better at it however they are too talkative. They won’t shut up the entire period. And 75 minutes is really long with 11 boys and 5 girls.
#3…The math teachers are driving me crazy. They are basically stressing out about doing their jobs. The nitpick everything!!! It is exhausting to work with people who are neurotic, obsessive, pessimistic, and worrisome all the time.
#4…My last period of the day is athletics. It was going really well until the last shot attempt in a fun game of basketball. As two girls were going for the ball, they both fell over each other and one ended up smacking her head against the wall…cement block wall. Great!!! She was fine but the bad part is when another guy coach was on my case about calling her mother. He thought I should have called her immediately!!! I told him that I would in a second after I got all my other girls on their way to getting changed and getting the equipment locked up. He kept on and kept on until finally I cussed at him and told him to give me a damn second and to get off my case. I ended up calling the mom in an unsatisfactory time (to him) of under 5 minutes. I even went a step further and called this evening to make sure she was alright which she is. He is so uptight if you put a lump of coal up his ass he would squeeze out a diamond.
#5…It rained today!!!
Anyway I pray for sunshine and a good day tomorrow.

All's Quiet on the Homefront

So this is what it would be like if I lived alone?!? Justin and the kids are staying in Nederland tonight. He went down to work on our properties. He didn't finish so he needs to stay and work some more tomorrow. I haven't even been home an hour and I am missing my family tremendously. It is so quiet and still. All the toys are still put away...no juice spots to step on...no spit up to wipe up. Sometimes after a long day I wish I could just veg on the couch and not have to get up every 5 seconds to get Aiden off the kitchen table or put Lillie back on her playmat. But now that I have it...I want my kids here. Geez just can't ever please a woman, huh? I guess I will take advantage of it and do some things I haven't done in a while i.e. watch a show without having to get up for anything and take a bath without someone splashing water at me.

What If...??

Justin and I had a very enlightening conversation last night on the way home from the festival. We were talking about when we broke up back in 1999. Wow never realized that was 7 years ago...seems like just yesterday sometimes. To catch some of you up to speed, we broke up our freshman year of college for about 3 months. We each dated other people. I dated a few guys two of which have the same name, Aaron. We discussed what caused us to break up and why we didn't immediately get back together. I think part of the reason we didn't get back together right away was the fact that I was now getting attention from other guys. We had been dating for almost 3 years by then. And I felt like I had a mark on me like the scarlet letter. We continued to rehash that whys, whats, whens, and hows of the break up, separation, frequent encounters at parties, school, frat house, etc. As we were talking I began to wonder what if we had not gotten back together.

Where would I be now?

Would I be married with kids? Would I still be living in the Golden Triangle? Would I be teaching? Would I have followed my parents to Florida then Nebraska? Would I have moved out of my parents house and been on "my" own? Who would I be with?

I remember the day that I went to Justin and ask him if we could get back together and make it work. I didn't realize it then but that was the single moment in time that I changed my destiny in life. I am thankful for my choice and decision. Because I am now married to that wonderful man and have two beautiful kids by him. So my question of "What If..." is not one of felt out of unfulfillment but of shear curiosity.

3 cubed is 12

Being a teacher poses many obstacles these days like being shot at work by some kid you failed or a crazy maniac with a grudge against a former teacher who called on him too many times. What ever the case...teaching sucks!!! About half the teachers quit after 5 years of teaching. I laughed at that when I heard that stat when I was a first year teacher. But I can completely understand now. Your 1st -3 rd years you are just trying to keep your head above water. Your 4th and 5th year you are wondering why you didnt listen to everyone who was warning you about teaching.I currently have 31 students in my two math classes. Out of those 31, I have 23 targeted "at risk" for AMI (Accelerated Math Instruction). Basically meaning they have educational gaps in their Math education. By district and state laws I am required to keep documentation on these 23 students. 23 kids, 23 folders, 23 AIP (Accelerated Instructional Plans), 23 kids who may not pass TAKS. Keep in mind that I only have a total of 31!!!!My remaining 8 kids I have to raise their scores to show a year's growth and hopefully get them to commended performance on the TAKS.

Today we did a review over all the material we have covered in the past 8 weeks. I might as well have not taught anything to them the past 8 weeks. Because they proved to me that they could not remember anything that I taught them. For example, one of the problems included 3 cubed. I had more than one student come to me and tell me that 3 cubed was 12!!! I asked "How did you get that?" Students reply "well 3 x 3 is 9 plus 3 is 12" Really? Well I need to call Harvard because you have just discovered a new math concept!!! Mind you I have taught exponents to great lengths. And they still do not get the whole idea of what to do.

At what point do I get to cut to the chase with these kids and just tell them it doesnt matter if you learn it...you are just going to mow lawns the rest of you life or mooch off the government along with all the rest of your uneducated family .

Rest of the world

I have officially caught up with the rest of the world and created a blog. I find it humorous that we as a society find it acceptable to post our personal thoughts for the whole world to see. I guess I will enlighten the world with my "exciting" life which will consist of me being a mom to two under two, teacher to 7th grade hormonal morons, coach to girls who try so hard but will rarely win a game, and wife to a stay at home dad who I love very much. This ought to be interesting and if it is not I will embellish on the parts that are dull to the common folk.