If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now.

I had this overwhelming feeling of contentment and happiness on Christmas that I wanted to blog about but then I fell asleep on a pile of wrapping paper. Christmas Eve we went over to Ryan's moms for supper. She had the book "A Christmas Bell for Anya" and while it is sad (Anya is killed by a stray bullet) I really liked the part where Anya's father thanks God for letting him be Anya's father for 8 years. It made me think about my own children and Evie. Can I be glad that I was Evie's mother for a few short months? I think I can. Were those months better than nothing at all? That's not my reality so I'll never know. Anyway, I thought I'd share my enlightenment with others. It's kind of a big breakthrough for me.

What is cuter than kids in footie pajamas? Maybe Kittens in footie pajamas?


Kids on a Christmas high.

Grace got a flip camera for Christmas so I tested it out while they tried out their new Ripstix.

Please don't follow our example
So this year was pretty good. Ryan and I are still liking our jobs. Mine is getting a little bit easier. We took a fabulous vacation to Disneyland, visited Charlotte and my family in the summer. Both girls are doing well in school this year and I really like my class at school. Ryan does his detectivy stuff and does it well. I don't think anyone in our extended family was in the hospital this year! There are still things in my life I struggle with, namely my body image and faith but all I can do is continue to work on these things. I'm so grateful I have Ryan to go through life with. How lucky we are that a chance meeting between two people at a bowling alley has turned out so well? We were so stupid and young when we got married. I tell my girls if they ever come to me at 19 and tell me they are getting married it will kill me. "You don't want mommy to die do you?" They just roll their eyes.
You wish I was your mama
Hanna started wearing make-up this month. I've never had any hard and fast rule about when make-up wearing could start but she'd never really bugged me that much about it. The other day she wore some eyeshadow to school and when I questioned her about it "Is that eyeshadow?" She told me yes and that even her teacher told her she looked really good. I said it looked fine and she could keep wearing it. (COOLEST MOM EVAS!) The next day she came to school with this super dark purple eyeshadow on. Coolest mom ever rubbed it off with her fingers. Obviously she needed some guidance. So Santa brought her some mascara, eyeshadow and I gave her some of my old Clinique samples. Even Ryan admitted she did a really good job and looked cute. That's big for a dad. Next week I'm going to show her how to use a Sharpie to make some chola eyebrows.
This year is going to kick a$$
My friend Kristin and I have this thing were we say "This is going to be the year!" It means different things to each of us but it usually has something to do with exercise. This year Kristin and I are going to run the Riverton half-marathon together. I'm excited to start training for this challenge. My goal is to not have to walk or puke. The marathon is held the end of March and a few weeks later, Ryan and I are going to Mexico for his 40th birthday! That has to do with my other goal for the year which is to look decent (for 37) in a bikini. Happy New Year! I'm leaving you with one of my favorite kitten videos of the year.

The gift card

I was listening to the radio the other morning and they were talking about giving gift cards for Christmas. I love the gift card, I think it's a great present to give and receive. I do know family members who think they are impersonal. If you know what someone wants, then by all means buy them a gift. I love buying gifts. I like figuring out what someone wants and then finding it. I'd rather give a present than a gift card but when it comes to people that I don't know exactly what to get, the gift card is the perfect solution. It's also easy to mail. Ryan's mom gave me a great present last year, a gift card to a salon where I could choose what to get. I ended up getting a massage, a facial and a pedicure. Wonderful! Would I rather have had a gift card to the music store instead of the Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet" tape I got for my 12th birthday? For those who know me, the answer should be obvious.

My icy heart was warmed
Saturday I went with a couple of other teachers to volunteer as chaperones for Bear Hugs for Kids. Underprivileged kids are given the opportunity to shop for Christmas presents with a high school buddy and the Jazz Bear. What I found most touching about this day was how sweet the high school kids were with their buddies. It kind of restored my faith in teenagers and I hope that my girls get that opportunity to serve when they are in high school. The day would have been perfect if Shari wouldn't have screamed and nearly given me a heart attack when the Jazz Bear shot confetti at us. Lesson learned: Never go to a scary movie with Shari.

A yumtastic cookie recipe
I'm sharing this cookie recipe because Mary made it for the staff luncheon and everyone wanted it. I have to admit it is a great cookie. I'm not big on chocolate or mint but I wanted to eat a lot of these. I'm going to make some for the neighbors this week.
3/4 c butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 TBS water
2 c semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 packages of Andes mints
In saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar, butter and water. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate chips until melted. Set aside to cool. Pour chocolate mixture into large bowl, beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. ( I would do it longer. The colder the dough, the better.)
Cook at 350 for 8-10 minutes
Put 1 mint on top of each cookie and put back in the oven for 1 more minute so the mint can melt. When mint is softened, swirl it on the cookie with the back of a spoon.

Next year might be the year of the camera and braces
I have a decent point and shoot Canon but I think it might be time to go a step up. Don't worry, I won't be starting my own photography business but I do want to take a little higher quality photos of the family. I took these of the girls in their Christmas outfits and couldn't figure out how to blur the background. So yeah, this is the best it gets.

You, sir, are a Moron! A Mormon? But I'm from Earth!

Every few months I get a bee in my bonnet to cut my hair off. I have to resist this temptation because I don't think I really want short hair again. I'm liking being able to curl my hair since it took me long enough to learn how to do it. I'm a short hair girl at heart but I think I have the face of a bob. Ryan likes my hair in a bob. He wants me to look like I did when we met 17 years ago. I don't know why because I was growing out my summer job sun bleaching with sweet dark roots. Not one of my better hair phases.

Aren't these adorable? It helps that they are gorgeous and 15 years younger than me.


On Friday we had our annual Polar Express Day in first grade. We go all out for this, hiring a "real" Santa and making a lighted train of chairs in they gym. They get hot chocolate and cookies to eat while a "conductor" reads the story to them. Everyone wears their pajamas of course. In the afternoon we watch The Polar Express and eat popcorn. Fun times!

Here is the team, minus Shari. I bought sock monkey pajamas and slippers.

It's such a fun day that one of my students fell asleep during the movie.

Last night I was laying in bed because I couldn't sleep (for about 10 seconds. HAHA! Ryan) and I came up with something really funny to blog about but of course I forgot it. Maybe while I'm writing it will come back to me. Yesterday we went to an hour of church, which I believe is all anyone should have to go to church but I digress, and then we headed to SLC for some family fun. It has been unseasonably warm in Utah so we went down to The Gateway to do some window shopping. I went into Abercrombie and Fitch because I had a return. I'm obviously getting old because I feel that the music level in there is beyond ridiculous. I am not kidding you when I say I could not hear what the person helping me was saying. I just nodded when his lips moved. I couldn't stay in that store for more than a minute let alone work there. Those poor kids should check with OSHA because I'm pretty sure those can't be legal working conditions. Hearing loss, here you come!
We then went to eat at Este Pizza which Ryan had heard was good. I got a free coupon book for free from a school fundraiser and I've decided that we are going to use the crap out of it. It had a coupon for Este so that worked out well. We were all pretty hungry but I have to tell you, Ryan and I agree that this is one of the best pizza's we've ever had. It's New York style (my fave) and even Ryan who likes Chicago deep dish was loving this pizza. I was in some kind of pizza haze after and hours later at home, Ryan turned to me and said, "That was really good pizza." So give it a try and support a local business. We had the Italian Flag but they all looked good.
Temple Square was next on our agenda to check out the lights. We were pretty early and it was still light so we went into the visitor's center to keep warm. We were sitting down talking when a couple of sister missionaries came up to us. This is where it gets kind of weird. I think at first they were trying to give us "The Message" about the church. So I started to make comments like, "We met at BYU." in hopes that they would realize we were already familiar with their message and they didn't need to keep giving us the hard sell. They kept going regardless and then I started to realize that they must have some sort of quota of people they need to talk to each day and I relaxed a little. They were very nice and one was Chinese so I asked her questions about that since our neighbors are Chinese. She then asked if I wanted her to call our neighbors and talk to them about the church. I told her I was pretty sure they had been talked to and I don't know how she would call them since I don't even know their names. Anyway, this seemed much more comical while it was happening but basically, at first, they were trying to convert us to our own religion.

The first picture made me laugh because you can see the Hot Tamale Hanna is eating. She had to buy these at the pizza place after we ate. She loves the candy.



My NikeMini on the right side has been mocking me as of late. I'm taking a bit of a break from running. I try to do it once a week but I've been utilizing my rec center for classes more. I figure since I'm paying for it, I should use it. So now I do about 4 classes a week there which include two weight lifting classes. Already I've noticed a difference in how I feel and look. Cardio doesn't do it all, especially as I get older. Plus weights are good for your bones. So this is my plug for weight lifting. Do it! I'll leave you with my spin instructors eating motto for the holidays; "Christmas is just one, maybe two days." I wonder if I could eat an entire jar of Costco macadamia nut clusters in one day?

I can't stay mad at you Mr. Grinch

And so begins my favorite month of the year!I love December. I can even handle the cold in December just because it's such an awesome month. What makes this December even better is that I'm pretty much finished with Christmas shopping. I even have my Christmas cards ready to mail and presents wrapped. I'm awesome like that. This year I've really had fun getting presents for the girls. They are into clothes and if you know me, you know I like shopping for clothes a little. I don't care of it's shallow, I like clothes and now I like shopping for my girls. Hanna is really into "fashion" lately and even admitted that while I have terrible taste in music (I vehemently disagree. Justin Bieber? Come on!), I know something about fashion. Christmas to me isn't all about shopping though, I really like the opportunities we have to help others. Nothing makes me feel better than to think I'm helping a child or family have a happy Christmas. We have been donating to the Utah Food Bank all year and the girls really get into it. They even give their own allowance money to help. We always do some sort of Angel Tree gift giving during the holidays and in Hanna's words it, "gives her a warm feeling inside."

Things That Must Go
I listen to X96's Radio From Hell in the mornings as I drive my long commute (3 minutes) to school. They have a segment called "Things That Must Go" that is usually playing on Wednesdays when I'm driving to school. It got me thinking about my list:

1. Fancy oatmeal. I wanted oatmeal as a special breakfast treat this morning and stopped at the Beans and Brew drive through to get some. Starbucks has really good oatmeal with topping that come in little bags on the side. This is how it went:
Me: I'd like some oatmeal.
Server: What kind?
Me: Um, what are my choices?
Server: (I'm making these up but you get the idea)Let's see, we have nuts about oatmeal, oatmeal surprise, wake up with oatmeal, oatmeal and berries.
Me: I just want plain oatmeal with brown sugar. Do you have that?
Server: The closest we have is the nuts about oatmeal. It has nuts and brown sugar.
Me: Are those on the side?
Server: No, they are all mixed in.
Me: Forget the oatmeal.
Sorry local business but Starbucks wins out on this one.

2. Snotty noses. My cousin Chelle calls them "lambstails" but you know what I'm talking about. The two lines of snot that come out of kids noses after they've been playing outside in the cold. I don't get how kids can't feel that but I have to remind them frequently to get a kleenex. Another reason to dislike winter.

3. Cold. I know it's lame but I have to say it. The only good thing about it is that I can sit in front of the fireplace all evening.

4. The terms "Turkey Day" and "tummy control".

5. Ryan's "scrooge" attitude. I love him to death but I wish he had just a tiny bit of my Christmas mania.

Oh Ryan, I can't stay mad at you.

*I take these photos before school starts. Don't want you to think I spend my day taking photos of me with stuffed animals.

6. That Facebook app that tells me where people "check in". I think it's strange that you'd want people to know where you are all the time. I can't seem to be able to "hide" it either. Oh well, Facebook is strange altogether so I should cut those people some slack. They could argue, "Why would anyone want to read Shea's blog and know what she is doing?"

7. The weird, exhausting dreams I've been having lately. Reuniting with my old high school boyfriend, dating and then marrying him. Going to an ex-friends house topless during Thanksgiving when the entire family is there. Being chased by zombies all night. I'm starting to wonder if this is medication related? So my trade-off for not being crazy during the day is to be crazy at night? The anxiety didn't leave me, it just wormed it's way into my subconscious.

8. Rude people. I just witnessed a lady lose it on the Costco pharmacist because they were entering in her license information to buy antihistamines which, I think, is the law. She was swearing at her (This is the only Costco that makes me feel like a damn criminal when I buy antihistamines!) and then would turn around and look at me like, "Can you believe this?" I stared back like, "You are a horrible person." When the pharmacist said she was going to get a manager, the woman grabbed her pills, threw them in her purse, said, "You have my check. I'm leaving!" and walked away. I later heard her in another part of the store yelling at a manager. Seriously? Nothing makes you look more like someone who is going to take those pills home and cook up some meth than freaking out about your information being entered when purchasing them. Her behaviour made me wonder if she wasn't on something because it's hard for me to imagine that someone would act that terribly without an altered state of mind.


Things I love

1. I know I've talked about my Uggs before and I'm aware they are totally 2003 but I's loves them! When winter comes they are my best friend. I get home from work, put them on and my feet are warm all night. I'm sure other slippers would solve the cold foot problem but Uggs are socially acceptable to wear in public. Slippers are not people. Especially if paired with flannel pajama bottoms. www.sales-uggsboots.com has cheap Uggs.

2. My CHI hot iron. It just does the job. My old one died and I found one on overstock.com for $75. It has a goofy design but I don't care. It's not like I walk around with my CHI as an accessory.

3. BodyShop body butter. I like the Shea butter because it's neutral smelling. Just like me.

4. Thierry Mugler fragrances. They sell these at Nordstrom and you can refill your bottles there when you run out. I like Angel, Alien and Garden of Star in that order. They stay on your body for a long time. Make sure you get the parfum not the toilette.

5. My new coat. I love this coat from Hollister. I got it on sale so don't stress about the price. It's the perfect temperature for winter unless you are outside a lot and then you might want a nice down coat instead. Which I have for when I'm on recess duty.


6.Hanna's new haircut. She and her stylist decided on it all by themselves. I was at Ann Taylor Loft buying a dress. I love this age.

I made her take this before school started and she didn't think she looked acceptable.

7. Costco nonfat frozen yogurt. 90 calories/1/2 cup. Add a few frozen raspberries and you have the perfect treat to eat by the fireplace. Only $1.36 for a huge cup that the girls and I share.

8. To the heated seats in my car: my warm bum thanks you.

Blog neglect

It's that time of year where it seems like I don't really have much to say. I like to think of my blog as a public journal that I do for family but it is nice to have a few comments. I guess if I feel like if no one is reading, is there really a point? I'm sure it doesn't help that everyone and their dog (literally in some cases) have a blog. Sometimes when I'm writing I tell myself "be more funny Shea!" but my life isn't always like a TV sitcom. Here is a list of things that have happened recently:

*Last year on my birthday, a treat a student gave me was stolen in my classroom. After much lecturing, no one confessed. I have to admit, at the time this really drove me crazy but eventually I got over it and learned a lesson to not leave things out in my room. On Friday, a student and their mom came into my room and the student confessed and apologized for taking my treat. I told her I was very proud of her for telling me the truth. She left a couple of treats for me on my desk. When the left, I looked at the treats and realized the original treat that had been stolen was one of the treats, in it's original packaging. Interesting to say the least. I'll let you think about that for a minute.

*I was evaluated by my principal on Wednesday and he was very complimentary. My principal is very kind but it's still nice to hear such positive things about oneself. I really like my class this year so, most days, it's fun to teach. I've introduced a new "free dance" activity we do in class. I play music and one student comes up to the front and dances while the rest of the class mimics them. We switch off frequently. It is pretty hilarious. I even get in on it now and then.

*I've been feeling really tired again so I went to the doctor to have my thyroid checked. I was up another pound and he told me weight fluctuates but I said mine only seems to go up lately. He basically said, "You're getting older. So suck it up." I told him I have too much invested in my wardrobe to not be able to wear it. I just keep gyming/running it up and hopefully I won't be 200lbs but the time I'm 46.

*At the above mentioned doctor appointment, I had my blood drawn. I don't like anything to do with veins as I have mentioned before so I just turn my head and go to my happy place when this is done. Everything went well and I headed out to the car. I got in and looked at my arm to see blood running down it. I almost fainted/puked right then but I had enough sense to put pressure on it and raise my arm above my heart. It stopped but my hand was covered in blood. I had to call Karen so she could distract with wacky stories.

*The girls told me they both want to grow their hair out. I told them they could do whatever they wanted as long as the ragamuffiness is kept to a minimum. In other words, learn how to use a damn brush!

*I've been planning our First Annual First Grade Christmas Party. It's going to be at my house and I can't tell you how excited our husbands are about this party. I think a simultaneous groan was heard from all our houses when the men were told about it. I reminded Ryan of the bazillion Highway Patrol parties/banquets/awards ceremonies I've been to and that he better suck it up and act like he's having a great time.

*We broke the sabbath to see Harry Potter today and Ryan and I got into a discussion about the "nude" scene that has people in an uproar around these parts. I told Ryan it wasn't necessary for the plot and he disagreed. He said it was playing on Ron's greatest fears, while I thought clothed making out would have been just as effective. I said I wasn't a prude (he disagreed) but I was bothered that it gave people something to whine about. So see, not going to church and seeing Harry Potter instead just caused contention in our home. Satan wins this round.

I got some photos back from our summer photo session that I thought I'd share. Have a great Thanksgiving! I'm very thankful for my family, Ryan's affection/friendship, a healthy body, healthy children, a home, friends and a job I like.

Serious Grace

Laughing Grace

Her Royal Tweeness

The girls with Grandma and Grandpa Toly

You'd better have some Valium to give that cat.

I get church emails from time to time and this was came the other day.

Mrs. Catlady is needing someone to take a cat to her sisters for her. Her
sister lives in Manhattan Beach, California. If anyone is traveling thay way
for the Holidays, and would be willing you can call Mrs. Catlady at 555-5555.
Mrs. Catlady also said she would pay 50 dollars after the cat was delievered.
Thanks

I left the spelling mistakes in on purpose. There are so many things about this email that crack me up. I also have many questions. Why does the cat need to go to Manhattan Beach? Is it just visiting or permanently relocating? Is the cat alive or dead? What's the cats name? I like how you don't get your money until the cat is delivered. You know, just in case you are tempted to keep the cat. I've traveled with a cat before. When we were going to school in Laramie, we had to take our cat Simon with us whenever we traveled for an extended time because we had no one to watch her. One such trip to Ryan's parents house resulted in a chipped tooth for Ryan. The cat was making such a horrible noise that he pulled off the road, slammed on the breaks and, I thought, was getting the cat to throw it out into the Wyoming desert. He clenched his teeth so hard, one chipped. This was when the cat was drugged! Yes, we got medicine from the vet to drug our cat on car trips because if it wasn't, the noise it made was unbearable. So yeah, I don't think I'll be taking $50 to transport someones random, maybe rotting, cat to California.

The stuff legends are made of
This week was not one of my best. I got sick Sunday morning with a sore throat and all my positive health thoughts did not work because I ended up being sick the rest of the week. One of the worst things about teaching is how difficult it is to take a sick day. I have to find a sub and write sub plans. Sadly, it is easier to go into work sick and try to keep contact with your students to a minimum. I've yet to be so sick that I can't make it into work. Which in my mind would involve copious amounts of puke and or uncontrollable coughing/fever. So yeah, the week just seemed long and tiring but manageable until Thursday when I was hit with 2 (almost three if you count one of the other teachers dry heaving in the hall) types of bodily fluid. I wasn't actually hit with them but I was within hitting range. I didn't really get grossed out and it helped that my sense of smell seemed to be damaged by my cold. I guess it's pretty rare to have both a #1 and #2 accident in one day so I'm hoping that I'll be the thing of legend soon. "I heard, Mrs. Van Fleet had two accidents in one day in 2010! Can you believe that?" It's all part of teaching first grade and honestly, I almost started crying because my two students looked so sad. The only thing I was really worried about was my room being forever tainted but the custodial staff and my fellow teachers did a great job of cleaning/freshening my room. All is well again in room 111.

Insight
Ryan uploaded some photos from the girl's cameras into iPhoto the other day. When I was looking through I found some quite interesting.

I just liked this photo of Hanna. It was from the summer of 2009 when we went on the Heber Creeper with Nana.

You knew there would be photos of the cat right? Looks like Lucy was playing some "Sing It" and fell asleep.

This photo made me laugh. Something about Lucy's expression. Like she is thinking, "Yeah, that's right. I'm wearing a dress. Humiliating isn't it?"

Hanna is kind of an animal whisperer. I liked this photo of her with Melly.

I'm guessing the girls put Grandpa up to this when he was cutting up fruit one morning, or my dad is a knife wielding psycho.

I accept the challenge of Sparkle Fairy!

I better blog or I'm going to get a call from my dad asking me what my problem is. It's weird how a a couple of weeks will go by where I think I have nothing at all to talk about and then the next week is full of excitement. This week was one of those weeks.

On Wednesday it snowed for the first time. This was my morning view from my classroom. Fortunately, it didn't last long but we've yet to get nice weather back. I made a joke to Ryan about it signaling the time to up my Prozac but seriously, I don't like winter. I tell Ryan I want to take up skiing so that the I will associate the snow with something good. He says skiing is a hobby for the rich. I say, that's why I went back to work, so we could buy pre-shredded cheese and take up skiing.

That night Ryan carved one of his fantastic pumpkins. It took him three hours but I like to think of it as him keeping up his la-dee-da arty skills. We didn't pay thousands of dollars for nothing. If we win the contest he's entering, we'll get a $25 gift card!

On Thursday, Grace won a bike at school. We have a reading incentive program that a local car dealership sponsors and Grace's name was drawn to win a bike. The other student who won was in my class so there was a lot of cheering coming from my classroom. I told my class that the Van Fleets never win anything so this is a really big deal. Because Grace won, she got to lead our school Halloween parade. Very exciting.
Grace got a BMX bike to round out her bike collection. I see some Napoleon Dynamite ramp building in our future.

Grand marshal of the Halloween parade. Our principal is the wizard. He's great.

Friday was Halloween at school and I have to admit it's not my favourite holiday. Last year I had a total anxiety attack during the school parade. Let me set this up for you. Our school has approximately 1200 students. For the Halloween parade, most of their parents and quite a few grandparents show up. We walk our classes through all 36 classrooms and then we go into the double gym that is full of chairs. Not so fun for someone who has social anxiety. This year I felt a lot better about things. Maybe it's the brain medicine working or just being more comfortable with my job but I would say this Halloween was much better than the last. I asked one of the little fairies in my class if she'd like to walk holding my hand and we had a good time together. See, people can change when they are as old as I am. Tonight Ryan is out with Grace and it's pouring rain. I haven't had one kid at the door. Hanna is with her school friends. The first year Hanna and Grace haven't gone together. I guess I need to get used to that.

Grace and I made our skirts. Well, Hanna mostly made mine. I love that they can do things for me now. Grace is a monarch butterfly and I'm a "sparkle" fairy. I had to come up with a name when my class asked me what kind of fairy I was.

Hanna, being Hanna during the parade. She's the life of the party, or so she thinks.

Me and my sweet fairy helper.

"For lucky best wash, use Sparkle Fairy!"

The first grade team all dressed up as fairies. Shari (purple wig) says I owe her lunch because of it. First grade is #1!

What? You didn't make your cat a matching costume? Well that just makes you weird. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Mole-less!

School picture time again! I found out last year that I could give my package to one of my own kids. This was great because what adult wants school photos and especially an 8X10? No normal one, that's for sho. I used to totally stress about this day because I wanted my kids to look perfect but either age or medication are making me care much less about them (the photos, not the kids). This year I told the kids they could wear what they wanted (Aeropostale t-shirts) and I just straightened their hair for them. I tried to look nice because this photo goes on my school ID tag, that I'm supposed to wear all year. The day came and went without any incident and last week we got our photos back. The company still gave me the dreaded package with an 8X10, which Ryan will be taking to work and hanging on his door. Hanna came into my room after school and told me her photo was "ADORABLE! That, "This was the best photo ever! It's the best I've ever looked!" I looked at the picture quickly and it was a nice photo of her but I was busy so I didn't really study it. When we got home that night I looked at it more closely and realized it had been airbrushed! Since she got my teacher package, she got airbrushing too. Hanna and Ryan have matching flesh colored moles on their faces and they airbrushed it off! I'm glad she's happy with the picture but I really didn't think the airbrushing was necessary. That's for us ugly old teachers.

Mole-less!

Grace has inherited my "crazy eyes" tendency in photos.

If you want an autographed copy, I've got plenty to spare.


Parent/teacher conferences were last week and they went well. The second day I had a sub during the day while I did math assessments in another room. I was done early so I went home to change and when I came back my room was dark. We have motion sensitive lights in our rooms and they will time out if the room is still enough. It happens a lot when I don't have kids in the room. I usually have to get up from my desk and walk around until the sensor picks me up. I just thought my lights had timed out so I walk into the middle of my room but the lights don't kick on. I walk around some more and nothing is happening. I have this problem sometimes with automatic doors and I think it's because of my height. I can't tell you how many times I've almost walked into doors because they didn't open like they were supposed to. So freakishly short. I'm now wondering what is up so I start walking around my room doing this kind of dance (think Elaine Benes) hoping to kick the sensors on. Luckily no one was around because I'm sure they would have found it quite comical. I finally give up and start walking into the hall when I realize no lights are on in the entire school. The power was out! When I told my team they all laughed at me. So we got to do half of our conferences that night in by window light. Luckily they came on before it got dark.

Ryan and the girls are leaving tonight for central Oregon to visit his dad and grandma. I'm not going. I feel a bit lame but the thought of driving 10+ hours to sleep on Grandma's big couch did not sound all that appealing to me. My real excuse is that they will be missing Monday and I'm not supposed to take days off before or after holidays (it's Fall Break). Ryan's dad has two horses and a goat so the girls excited. Grandma is more than excited about seeing her girls since it's been over a year. I do miss the time when we all lived in the Van Fleet compound. At least the girls had a few years with their Great-Grandma, Papa and Nana living next door. Simon, our first cat, still lives with Grandma. They are wacky companions but I know Grandma loves that cat. Simon turned 16 this year and Grandma is 91 so they are both in their twilight years. Grandma is always talking about wanting to die so I hope there isn't some sort of suicide/murder pact being discussed between the two of them.

Kids fall out of chairs a lot. It's a phenomena I've noticed more in this year's class. One moment they'll be sitting in their chair and the next moment they are on the floor. I like to think it's because they are so enthralled by the lesson I'm teaching that they don't realize they are slowing inching off the chair but I think it has more to do with 6 year olds being in perpetual motion. It makes me smile every time it happens because they act so surprised. Like, "How did I end up on the floor? Again!"

I just want you to know, if you ever need anything, don't be shy, OK? There are NO rules in the house. I'm not like a *regular* mom, I'm a *cool* mom.

A few years ago someone asked me how I got myself motivated to exercise. I think they wanted some secret thing I did that got me to the gym or outside to run. The only thing I could tell them is that I just did it. Lame answer but there really is no secret. There are days/weeks when I'd rather have someone kick me in the head than run or go to spin class. Some weeks I work out 1 day, some 7 but I've learned that if I let myself sit for too long, I start to feel "gross" both mentally and physically. This last month was one where I wasn't doing too well. Starting back to work really drained my energy. I would come home from school and fall asleep for a couple of hours and still be tired enough to go to bed at 9. I decided to try waking up early and running instead of waiting after work to exercise. This was going pretty well until I remembered I hate getting up in the morning. I took a break for a couple of weeks but started up again this week. Tuesday morning I woke up and stumbled downstairs to the treadmill half asleep. I started to run but kept yawning these huge yawns. During one such extended yawn, I guess I closed my eyes. I stumbled and one foot went off the treadmill while the other stayed on. I started flailing around trying not to fall off and eventually got both feet back on. Lesson learned, running on a treadmill before you wake up fully is dangerous. Only the cat Lucy witnessed this and she only laughed a little so my pride wasn't damaged much.
I don't think she is one to talk (note the tongue). She is well on her way to winning the award for most things sat on (the newspaper).


I don't want to sound weird but I kind of have a sixth sense, if you will, about bigger purchases. I just kind of know when they are good decisions. Like some sort of big purchase super hero. We've talked a bit about trading in our van for something a bit less "soccer mom" but decided to hold off for a couple more years. Today I cleaned out the van and it got me thinking again about trading it in. I went to ksl.com and looked up Volvo and Acura. There was one Acura listed and after looking at the add, I kind of knew this would be our car. I called Ryan, who was out running errands, and told him I thought we should go look at this car. It was surprisingly easy to convince him. Maybe he trusts my judgement or maybe he secretly wanted to have something cooler than the van or maybe it was because I said the empty van was a reminder of what I couldn't do as a woman.(HAHA that's a joke) It was relatively pleasant and easy buying our "new" car. We got a 2007 Acura RDX. It's as loaded as it can get with the Tech package and turbo. The girls favorite thing is the camera that shows what is behind you when you back up, oh and they like the moonroof. They keep asking me if they can ride around with their heads sticking out of it like they're in a Puff Daddy video or something. It's going to take both mine and Ryan's big brains to figure out how everything works. Apparently everything can be activated by voice command. I look forward to the time when I can say, "Car, drive me home" and sit back to take a nap.

The best thing about this car is that I fit in it. The seats in the van were too tall and my feet barely touched the ground. They would become numb from dangling. That's how freakishly short I am. The first time I sat in this car, I adjusted the seat and it was bliss.

The girls weren't sad to see "Old Blue" go. They think this car is cool.

It has a steering wheel!

Gadgetry!

Perfect size for our abnormally small Utah family.

This is where I put the groceries.

"Laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind"

"I know she's kind of socially retarded and weird, but she's my friend... so, just promise me you won't make fun of her!"

I'm really starting to like my second year of teaching. I'm not saying there aren't days that end with a wicked headache because I've just had the 100th kid say, "teacher!" but mostly it's going well. My class this year is funny. They crack me up and I totally appreciate that. I can handle a kid misbehaving if he/she is funny while doing it. The first week of school we had a fire drill and one of my boys reminded me that not everyone got out of the room. When I asked him what he meant, he said the parrot didn't get out. He was talking about our stuffed parrot we have in our fake tree. I said something like, "Oh the poor parrot. Maybe the firemen will get him out." This boy then said in an overly dramatic voice, "WON'T SOMEBODY THINK ABOUT THE PARROT?!" He thought he was pretty funny and you know what? He was. I'm also really excited about the music program our first grade team started. We are going to have music every other Friday (they also get it once a week with the music teacher) as an entire grade. We did it for the first time on Friday and it went really well. Shari is a natural and I could tell the kids loved it. I think the arts in school is so important but it's hard to fit it in when you are also trying to get through all the curriculum.

Our own little junior executive
My own kids have been pretty entertaining also. Hanna called a family meeting last week to which she brought a binder filled with an agenda. She wanted to talk about an allowance increase because she takes care of the cat, taking cheer leading lessons (ugh) without Grace and starting up our daddy-daughter/mommy-daughter dates again. She had each tabbed off with points written down. When we responded to her, she'd write down what we said. Whose child is this? She also went to her first real party this weekend. A girl in her class had a back to school party with a DJ. This place is a lot different than Santaquin. I took secret joy in telling her to "remember who she is and where she came from." I also added "no making out with boys, no drugs and no alcohol." Her response was a disgusted "MOM! Stop it! There aren't going to be boys there!" I got Grace her first little sports bra/cami thing this week because she told me, "all her friends have them." Really, why should I care? She isn't asking to go on the pill or get her tongue pierced. I know I need to let them have control over the little things. See, I'm growing. It's just hard to see them growing up. It's fun in some ways but sad in others.

"Why are you dressed so scary?" "It's Halloween."
I don't think it's any secret that I'm not a big fan of Halloween. I don't like spending money on something that will be worn for one day. When the kids were younger, I borrowed a lot of costumes or bought them 70% off the day after Halloween or told them to go down to the dress-up clothes and find something they wanted to wear. As they got older, this got a little more difficult because they didn't want to be a Disney Princess for the third year in a row. I still haven't spent that much on costumes because I'm savvy like that. Now, to add to the misery, I have to come up with a costume each year. Last year I wore a costume that I'd actually borrowed for Hanna a couple of years earlier but I didn't really love it and don't want to wear it again. So this year, we all had to get new costumes. I think most of the first grade team has decided to be fairies of some sort because we can make our own skirts together. When I was out buying my wings, I found some really cute monarch butterfly wings for Grace and our costumes are now mostly taken care of. I took Hanna out yesterday to look before things get really picked over and she picked this out

I like it. It's really hard to fine Halloween costumes for a tween that aren't totally hootchie mama. Apparently society has embraced this. It reminds me of the line in "Mean Girls" where Caty says, "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it." I'm not cool with this. Hanna wanted to be a witch and I thought this costume was good at covering everything but also looked appropriate for a 6th grade girl.
*This was my first choice for a costume but I worry it would scare my class and I know Ryan would have nightmares.


Daddy's girl
My parents came to visit over Labour Day weekend and we had a really good time. Lot's of Mexican food was consumed and the girls got a nice fill of grandparent time. We had two rocking chairs out on our front porch. One was given to me by Karen a few years ago and I painted it black. It was the comfortable one that Ryan and I always fought over. The other chair was a new one I'd bought at Walmart was about as comfortable as two boards nailed together at a 90 degree angle. We did a lot of porch sitting when my parents were here because the weather was so nice. I got a phone call from my Dad after they got home and he told me he'd buy me some new chairs for our front porch. Comfort was obviously #1 but I also wanted them to look nice. I found these at Lowes and I'm loving them. Karen said I was spoiled and I'm okay with that.