Culture Shock

I went to a park near our new house today, in Lake Oswego. When we got there I looked around at all the other moms and I felt something I haven't really felt since High School. I had that feeling like when you show up to a party that you thought was casual but it turned out to be formal. We were at the PARK. With our children and all these super skinny women are walking around in their skinny jeans and designer tops with hair and make up done and starbucks cup in hand. All the kids looked like they'd walked out of Gymboree catalogs. Elie stuck out like a sore thumb in her typical Elie ensamble. It made me really miss Corvallis.

chaos

The theme of the last two weeks. Chaos. Absolute, utter, sleepless chaos. I feel like we hit the ground running and haven't hit the finish line yet. We started the moving process the Friday before last. When I say we started the process I mean we started. I was in denial and knew we had our place until the very end of September so I was in NO hurry to pack anything up. So we started packing and brought a load up friday afternoon. Saturday was spent making room at my parents house. Saturday night Lainey woke up in the middle of the night covered in throw up. She didn't stop throwing up until the same time the next night. 24 hours of a puking baby while attempting to move, pack and organize was not fun. Elie got sick a couple of days later. Oh, and a bookshelf fell on my head.

The job- I am constantly vacillating between fear, anxiety and peace. I have such a strong sense of rightness. My coteacher and I are getting along really well and have very similar teaching/personality styles. She actually grew up in Corvallis and went to CHS. I found out today that this year the district hired 5 teachers. Each position had over 50 applicants. I was chosen out of that.

My classroom will be almost the same as the preschool class I worked in before only with a 180 lb fourth grader who likes to be naked and has severe athletes foot. I have never had a student who outweighed me before. (this being where a lot of the fear lies). Also, the question of that test is still looming over my head.

I spent an impromtu 11 hours on Monday cleaning and emptying out the apartment so now we are officially out.

Lainey also took her first steps this weekend! She is really reluctant and prefers crawling though, so it might still be awhile.

anyway... that's where we are

When you think they are sleeping...

Elie went to bed tonight and was quiet for a long time. It was a long, exhausting day so we figured she was asleep. When we went to go check on her a few hours later this is what we found...





Seriously, who gave this girl a feather pillow?

My Garden is Growing!!!!!!!

Finally!!!! Thanks in large part to Nick's diligence in watering. I really need one of those timed soaker hose thingys.

Wordless Wednesday... Summer

I love books

In case I haven't made that clear enough in previous posts. I started packing yesterday morning. We are moving in less than a week and I packed my first boxes yesterday morning. I have been in a bit of denial. And (as also established in a previous post) I do not think about things that are unpleasant until the last possible moment. For whatever reason, the first thing I decided to pack was my book shelf.



These SIX boxes contain only my books. These six boxes do not include Elie's books, the books I have collected for Elie to "grow into" or the books that I have set aside to not put in storage. AND I have more in storage already. I am definitely going to need that Library from "Beauty and the Beast" before too long.

I hope that I have instilled my passion (okay okay obsession) in my beautiful daughters...

On Self-Control

I have none. Not an ounce. I seriously should been enrolled in Karate when I was a kid to teach me some self discipline. If there are cookies/pie/chocolate anywhere in the vicinity I will eat them until they are gone. I frequently have been known to stay up all night reading until the book is finished. The whole time I tell myself "I need to stop" and yet I can rarely actually bring myself to do it. I am simply hopeless...