Where's My Brain?

I can't believe that it has been a month since I last wrote. There has not been anything too exciting going on.

Though I have been experiencing my fair share of brain farts...

The other day I took my lunch to school, just as I do EVERY day, and thought I put it in my little fridge in my classroom. Well come lunch time I opened my fridge and it was gone. I looked in my purse, the drawers of my file cabinet, under my desk. I even walked out to my car... no lunch any where. At this point it was too late to go buy school lunch, and when I don't eat I get quite cranky. I was so frustrated because I knew I had brought my lunch. At the last minute before I turned into a monster, I happened to look in the microwave, and there it was. What was I thinking?

Then, just this week, I have been trying to schedule parent teacher conferences with Madison's teacher. I made all these changes because I thought the original time was going to overlap with the parent teacher conferences at my school. Then it dawns on me... Madison's PT Conferences are next week, two week prior to my conferences. So all that work to change it when it didn't need to be changed, and now I am not sure if I will be able to make it at all. Can you say "ding bat"!

I also run every Tuesday and Thursday nights while Madison is practicing soccer. I push Maddox in my 10 year old jogging stroller, and we have a great time. The tires on the stroller are quite old, so they have developed slow leaks, which requires me to pump them up each time I run (or I could just change them -- but I am too cheep). So I pull the stroller out and set it up, get Maddox all buckled in, and take off on my normal rout. I am barely 1/3 of the way around my 1.3 mile lap (I usually run at least 3 laps)and feel like I am running in quick sand, my muscles are hardly working. I can't figure out what is wrong, so to be sure I don't injure something, I walk. A few days later it dawns on me that I had forgotten to pump the tires up! No wonder I had such a hard time: pushing a 50 pound kid in a 20 pound stroller with flat tires in gravel... DUH it was probably the equivalent of running in quick sand with weighted boots!

I hope that I have actually learned something these last few weeks and my brain has not really fallen out of my head.

On a completely different note: Maddox has been potty trained for a while now, only wearing a diaper at night. Well the last two mornings he has woken up with a dry diaper!!! I can hardly wait to be rid of those things!

A Doggy Nap

Just as I turned from the computer from my last post I was presented with another priceless photo opportunity...


We have been watching my sister-in-laws dogs while her and her husband are in Vegas. We are fortunate that all four dogs love each other. They play constantly, and thus they too get exhausted at earlier hours in the evening than normal.

Learned? Sleep must be the theme on this dreary evening.

And He's OUT!

After a long day with only a short nap (10 min) Maddox crashed as only he, and his father, could...




It is only 6:00 and he usually stays up until at least 8:30. He loves to play under the blanket rack with his cars, so it is not unusual for him to crawl in there. But this is a first. Notice his milk cup is still pretty full, he must have been really tired.

Learned? I wish that I could fall a sleep so easily!

FRESH!

I discovered a perk of working at a Palisade school....



Learned? I am loving my decision to teach at the middle school more every day!

29 Came and went, Along with a lot of other stuff!

I have been completely enthralled in the Twilight series, and just finished it this evening. So this explains my absence for the last month, any free time I had was spent in Forks, WA.

Below are a few of the important things I want to remember about the last moth:

My 29 birthday happened at the beginning of the month. We celebrated at a great wedding:

Congrats Ashley and Gerardo! (Not sure if I spelled his name right)

I also painted the house...
Before:



After:



I went to Vegas with my kindred spirit, Vycci. We stayed at the New York, New York. We shopped, we soaked in the pool and the sun, ordered room service (a $15.00 pint of Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream) while watching a chick flick, got pedicures, and we went to my first Vegas shoe, KA', and had an ENORMOUS steak for dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed the three days of uninterrupted girl talk! It was a good birthday celebration for the both of us, both having August birthdays!



Maddox is officially potty trained. We have had no accidents for quite a while now. He only wears a diaper to bed at night! Yeah Maddox!


I enjoyed a last HOORAH! the weekend before I went back to school. We went rafting through Glenwood Canyon with the Turners, for their daughter's birthday. It was such a blast! I also went on a wine tour for my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's 30th birthday! Happy birthday Kelly!




We also showed our ultra conservative side by taking Madison shooting. Brian and I both agree that it is important for our children to learn how to use guns, and through that learning develop a healthy respect for their power, though it will be years before we take Maddox. She was even brave enough to try the pistol (with Brian's help). She was surprised by the amount of kick it gave. I have decided that I want a little revolver of my own!



Madison started practice with the Academy team for soccer. We are all very excited to see what this season brings. The Academy team is an invitation only team that focuses on player development. In order to increase the level of competition for the games they will be playing against boys their ages. At first the girls were bummed, wanting to play older girls, but now the idea of playing boys is a bit exciting. I am so proud of how hard Madison works on this sport. She is so talented in so many ways!

Last but not of least importance, I had a very successful fist week of middle school. I have a great group of students, and am loving teaching math all day long. I was so nervous to start, but now that the first week is under my belt, I am super excited for the upcoming year!

Learned? Don't put off blogging so long, there is just too much that happened, and I wanted to write about, but now I can't remember it all. Though it was well worth the time spent lost in my books!

"I need a fan."

Maddox has been totally consumed with baseball. That is all he wants to do. While I was in Vegas (which I will post about soon, until then check out my friend Vycci's sight to hear a bit about it)Brian said it was all he would do all day long, catch and bat and throw. Even everything he said was "baseball" this and "baseball" that!

So today he gave me a good laugh. I have been consumed with a new reading series (which I want to post a bout soon), but as I was reading I was interrupted with Maddox's very matter of fact request "I need a fan." When I asked for clarification, he proceeded to tell me that he was playing baseball and wanted mommy to watch, again saying he needed a fan.

So of course I put the book down, and became my sons greatest fan!

Learned? I will always be my boys biggest fan, even if he chooses baseball over football -- I was hoping for the next Peyton Manning! ;) he he he...

Madison's Big Day

Today Madison got braces. She was a bit nervous, but in the end she said it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. The whole process took a bit over an hour, and she did really well. She is the first in her class to get the actual brackets on her teeth (some have retainers and expanders)so she was "quite the celebrity" she said. When she returned to school, everyone wanted to see her braces.

Most of our conversations today have been centered around what she can and can't eat, and proper care of her teeth with the new "apparatus" on them. She is fully aware of how important keeping her teeth clean is now, evident by her 20 teeth brushing and flossing tonight!

Here is a before picture:


And after:


Learned? If you want your child to have better dental hygiene and eat fewer sweets, just put them in braces.