a tiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everytime I looked at Patrick in his tiger costume, I was brought back to a memory of French class when we learned the noun 'le tigre.'  I can still see our teacher saying aloud, again and again.

So that's what my little guy was this year - le tigre!  We went to a Halloween party over the weekend at my aunt's house.  She's been doing the parties since I can remember and every year it just gets better.  She makes homemade chili and hot dogs cooked in beer, and then my Grandma brings the pies - pumpkin & apple.  Mmmmmm.  It's festive, delicious, and full of costumes that should never set foot in public.

leopard skirts & annoying cats

This Merona leopard print skirt from Target has me all shook up - I just love it.  It isn't very comfortable, but what the hell is comfortable from Target?  Their brands completely suck.  Except Liz Lange Maternity.  That's amazing.

Next time I wear this skirt I'll be wearing it with these booties.

Oh, and I am 100% aware that I wear this chambray shirt every other day.  I don't know what I'd do without it.  Thanks O.N.

If you live on a farm, then you may be used to this.  City folk get their cats knocked up, make them cozy spots in their mud rooms to give birth, and then drop all of them off at a nearby farm two weeks later when no one is looking.  It's great, and works out for both parties involved.  The cat people get to admire the kittens for a while, oooooooing and ahhhhhhhing at them.  And the farmers get cats to eat the mice, right?  Wrong.

Because they smell my delicious meals cooking each night.  Because they see a vulnerable toddler who will pet it.  Because the cows smell.

So guess who gets to deal with the cat that won't go away?  Yours truly. 

When Jeff and I first moved into our house, I would be all "Awww!" and feed them and pet them and love them.  They were like my best friends.  And then they would die (hit by cars, freeze to death, eaten by coyotes, yo uname it).  I would sob on my bed for days and Jeff would tell me it would be okay.

After repeating said story at least five separate times, Jeff finally screamed "ARE YOU DONE FEEDING THE EFFING CATS OR WHAT?"  Yes dear.  Yes.

So now I try and ignore them.  Try, being the operative word.  I never deliberately give them any food, but how can I help it if they get a meal out of my crockpot leftovers that I dump in the field? 

stupid headbands

I hate 'em! I hate 'em! These gigantic flower headbands are three things: uncomfortable, unnecessary, and freaking hideous.  I mean look at the orange one - what's the point?  I might as well take a picture of the headband and forget the kid.

Really?  And people say girls are growing up too fast.  Wonder why.

 

 

Baby girls are stunning enough on their own.  Do we really need to accessorize them with necklaces and tutu's?!  They're going to slap you when they grow up.

 

And the same goes for baby boys.  I'm beyond done with the enormous knitted hats.

 

 

"this sucks."

 

 

 

 

 

 







needing a distraction

The sickness has gone from bad, better, and to the worst for my little boy.  It's so hard to watch him cry when he coughs and constantly want to be held.  At the end of the day, it feels like three weeks have passed.

I need a distraction.  I happened to see this trailor on E! News (one of my fave shows) and it looks like a really great movie.  Safe Haven is a book written by Nicholas Sparks, and it's been made into a movie (just like 30 of his other books) starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel.  Here is the trailor - I can't wait until February!

home with patrick

My poor baby came down with croup over the weekend.  I put him down Friday night and when he woke up at 5:15 the next morning, his skin was on fire.  It went downhill from there - "barky" cough, difficulty breathing, lethargic, continuing fever.  I knew it was croup, but I still went ahead and brought him to the ER Sunday morning after a night of so little sleep I couldn't believe either of us  were able to function.

The doctor was super nice (and super cute, in a nerdy kind of way) talking about his kids and what he did when they had the virus.  I love doctors with young kids.  They get it.  So two hours + five teaspoons of medicine later, we were outta there. 

Since I had to have a substitute for this week, we went into my classroom to do some lesson plans.  Boy, that was fun.  Patrick sat in my lap and cried whiney tears down his face the entire hour; it was the saddest thing.

Fortunately, he is doing a little better today.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather by going uptown for a stroller ride and a stop at the park.  I'm going to be honest, I'm sort of thankful that I am able to stay home with him the next couple days (even though I hate that he is sick).  I've been missing him so bad - two weekend days is never enough time.

on being married to a farmer

Being married to a farmer has its advantages - like living out in the country, having readily available tractors to distract babies, and free pumpkins.

Anything else?  Not really.

I hold a huge grudge against the farm world.  Since my dad is also a farmer, I've been dealing with the agriculture business (and its dirty look at family left at home) since I can remember.  The cool thing about my dad was that he worked full time for the government and just farmed on the side.  That meant that he could be home to send us off on the school bus, as well as home for dinner most nights.  He just went back to the farm after dinner.

The thing about Jeff is that he's literally incapable of doing that; he has much more responsibility than my dad did.   And it sucks.  Every harvest season since we've been a couple there has been fighting between us.  Not really fighting, but a lack of connection.  Jeff and I don't do well when we don't see each other, don't talk over dinner, don't have date nights, etc.  Most couples wouldn't, I imagine.

We've been fortunate to have him home from time to time this season though.  I'm pretty sure he pops in throughout the day to see Patrick, and even if it's only for a few minutes, it helps.  But that time is Jeff as Daddy, and I miss my husband.   

In the end, Jeff is doing what he loves, and I would never want to take that from him.  It makes him who he is.  And it makes him the man I love. 

what i'm loving this fall

 

 

THE salted caramel mocha frappucino from Starbucks.  This is like, the most delicious thing you'll ever taste.  The salt (oh, the salt), it is divine.

The past year or so I've been sick of B & B Works.  Their scents gave me headaches and hernias and all kinds of negative feelings.  HOWEVER.  That all changed when I found this jewel.  I burnt that thing down in four days. 

 

Side note:  Don't you hate that you can't burn the last inch of your candles?

 

 

 



 

 

Greek yogurt is a little pricey.  But for my little guy?  Obviously I will pay any price.  These are mini yogurts for kids that are aspiring to be champions.  Or kids that already are champions, like mine.

 

 

 



This has been the perfect outdoor companion for Patrick.  We've had some warmer days recently, but not warm enough for a shirt only.  It allows for arm mobility, yet is cozy warm.  It's also adorable on a toddler.  On me?  The adult version makes me look like a marshmellow.  A fat marshmellow.

These have been a hit!  They're little toddler fruit snacks.  12 + months.  No high fructose corn syrup.  No trans fats.  Sold.

The Beauty Department has me motivated to do some fun things with my hair, especially this tucked bun.  I just need a couple pretty barrettes.  A big thanks to Heather for sharing that site with me!  It is super.

One of my favorite meals is chicken paprikash, so it was a no brainer that this chicken paprikash soup would be to die for.  I made is last week and it was incredible - exceeded my expectations in every way!  I recommend using chicken off the bone and fresh parsley & thyme; it made a big difference.  There's nothing like soup on a fall day.











our weekend via iphone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our weekend included a usual trip to the Farmer's Market (where we picked up a bouquet of flowers and some luscious strawberries), a birthday party (in which we had to vacate to the outdoors because my child has difficulty being contained), and an adventure to the apple orchard with Daddy. 

 

It was nice.  It was so fall.

 

 

  

 

manners, or lack there of

It's kind of like when a guy asks a girl to the prom and she says those dreaded words "Sorry, but I'm going with someone else."  ::SLAP!!!::

Friday I had another meeting in Toledo with some fellow educators.  For some background information, the food always sucks at these things.  You show up ready for a pancake & egg breakfast and they are serving raspberry danish (baked six days ago) that will make your legs jiggle by the end of the conference.  How hard is it to ask the PTO to throw together some fresh fruit and bake a few blueberry muffins?

Anyways, as we're settling in at our table (there were a few others from different schools) I immediately proceed to complain about the fattening breakfast and how I can't afford any extra calories these days.  The woman across the table says "I'm the one who organized this whole thing."

::SLAP!!!::

I felt terrible.  I mean, keep your mouth shut Stef!!  Of course I went into a long spiel about how our school is totally guilty of doing the same thing, food is so expensive these days, bla bla bla.

Later, after reading my book for the last hour of the presentation, the woman next to me starts up a conversation.

Pretty woman:  "What do you teach?"

Me:  "A lot of science.  Do you teach here at this school?"

Pretty woman:  "Well I used to.  Now I'm the principal here."

Me:  Crap, crap, crap.  "Aww how nice!"


Isn't that typical?  You just never know who people are, and the polite way to act around anyone you don't know would be to treat them like they're the President.  I just usually learn the hard way.



Speaking of manners, there are some things I find so completely rude:

• Talking while other people are talking.  At these teacher conferences, you wouldn't believe how awful the teachers are about keeping quiet.  It's unbelievable.  They are the epitome of the worst student.  And I say "they" on purpose because I DO NOT talk while someone else is speaking.

• Laying your phone on the table during a meeting.  Are you kidding me?  Is your phone so important that it has to be next to your notebook and pencil?  What news are you expecting? Other than your kid texting you asking why you made salisbury steak because it's gross?  Nothing.

• Throwing things out your car window.  I've observed people throwing entire bags of Burger King PLUS their king-sized Pepsi out the window.  What?!  WHAT?!  Our poor Earth!

• Not putting your cart back in the cart corral.  La-zy.  Think about the dude who is running in the rain to put those carts away!  (*Note:  If you're at Wal-Mart, go ahead and leave it next to your car.  It's not your fault they don't have any corrals within a half mile of the closer parking spots).

What pushes your 'manners' buttons?

playtime

After getting home from work in the afternoons, I go straight to my closet, throw on some comfy clothes, Pat & I bundle up and we head outdoors.  It has been straight up frigid here in northern o-hi-o!  The wind just goes right through you!  But no matter the weather we will keep on trucking as long as we can - it's only a matter of time before we have two feet of snow on the ground. 

Such special times.

school update

As most of you know, I was given quite the workload this year at school.  In addition to my 5th and 6th grade science classes, I am also teaching high school Biology and Earth Science.  Giving you an accurate portrayal of my weekly schedule would make you stressed by simply reading it.  I'm not going to lie, it's intense.  More so than I even thought it would be. 

I have nearly 130 students and four preps daily.  The planning that is involved is extensive and ongoing ( I literally never stop planning - there is always something to grab at Kroger or set up in the lab).  But it's not the planning that is getting to me, it's the learning.

Biology is toughhhhh.  The textbook the kids use is surely at college level, so I find myself pulling out the content that I can grasp well enough to teach and leaving the rest to the professors in their college years.  I am spending hours reading over the material.  Just to give you an idea, right now we're getting into Photosynthesis.  Sounds easy, right?  Plants use CO2 and give off oxygen?  Think again.

Anyways, it's nuts-o.  I love, love, love teaching the high schoolers though.  They are hilarious, and super smart.  We've got some seriously top-notch kids at our school.  The cream of the crop in old Sandtown, if you ask me.

So here is what we've been up to:

Like I said, my Biology students are working on Photosynthesis.  This mini lab we did involved infiltrating leaf disks with a bicarbonate solution, using light to create energy and therefore giving off oxygen.  The oxygen fills the air spaces of the disks and they end up floating.  It's basically a simple demonstration of how photosynthesis works.  (And it actually worked, which makes my job much easier...)

My Earth Science students are learning about the atomic model.  They chose an element from the Periodic Table and designed the atom based on its number of protons, neutrons and electrons. 

 

 

The 5th grade is smack dab in the middle of their Space unit.  They created constellations based on their zodiac sign, as well as made brochures persuading travelers to visit one of the eight planets (if it were possible, of course).  ::nerd alert::

Pictured above:  Taurus the Bull, Pisces the Fish, and Virgo the Virgin.

My 6th graders are working on a Mount Everest mini unit.  There's an amazing interactive game on Discovery Channel's website where the object is to reach the summit of the mountain.  The kids have to choose the appropriate tools and gear, as well as a guide and map out their route, etc.  They love it.

So despite the year being the most busy I've ever had, it's going well and I can still say I look forward to going into work every day!

practically perfect in every way!

Check out this Halloween costume.  Oh. Em. Gee. 

You guys, I am obsessed with Mary Poppins.  We are like kindred spirits, her and I.  Watching the film as a child, her voice just astounded me.  As well as her eyes, her hair, her accent...and her way of being confident and firm, yet charming and so frikking supercalifragilisticexpialidocious it's not even funny. 

Someone please have a Halloween party for adults so I can play this up like none other.

*Side note:  Jeff will be Bert, obvs.




{pinned from here}

not going anywhere

Here I am!  And I'm here to stay!

Criticism is extremely hard for me to take and use constructively.  Rarely do I ask for advice or share an issue and ask for an opinion.  It's not being stubborn or rude or even boastful.  It's just my personality.

So when someone feels the need to tell me something, something that made me feel like a child, I obviously felt a little betrayed and a lot offended. 

After being completely pissed off for what seemed like days, I was able to settle down and see things much clearer.  I decided that this person probably cares for me.  And that maybe I could take their advice.

With that being said, I'm not going anywhere.  And I like the way that feels.

au revoir?

Due to a comment from one of my family members, I've come to the decision that I must either be completely done blogging or completely done making jokes.


???


I have nothing else to say.