But then I put 'em together...

...and, well, it just goes downhill from there...


...in a very uphill cute kind of way. :)

and there's this good lookin' guy...

just a peek.

I know it's late, but I couldn't wait to post these!

I took Grant out for his Two Year session today.
I love so many of them! I used my 50mm lens which is a little tricky with moving objects(which he most certainly is), but I still got quite a few cute ones. I hope I'll post more soon. Along with my thoughts on him being a gigantic 2 year old.

PS - the hair in the first one is a little less than perfect, but so Grant!

at least there is this one.

the entire time I am loading pictures from a wedding onto my computer, I watch as the pictures appear. During this terrifying process, you can hear me saying,
"please Jesus...Please Jesus...Oh, thank you Jesus! Oh, thank you Jesus!"
The prayers are especially intense during certain times of the loading process. For example, the bride coming down the aisle.
Or the kiss.
Or the family shot of people who haven't been together in years and years.

Weddings are terrifying, nauseatingly nerve-wracking, feels-like-life-or-death events.
But then one picture appears like this one and I realize if nothing else, I got this one.It may not be perfect, but it's the first time this couple prayed together as husband and wife. And that's something to be remembered...

mason - my giant 1st grader.

he loves to "play" with bubba.

he talks...

and talks...

and talks...

and talks...

He makes great faces.

he loses all his teeth.

he makes more great faces while he talks.

his eyelashes make me want to kiss him

I adore him. :)

thursday: the new wednesday.

I didn't cry yesterday, Wednesday. My usual crying day.
Today, though...tears. All over the place.

I haven't posted about Grant's second birthday.
I haven't posted a picture of my son's toothless grin.
I haven't graded a million papers.
I forgot to tell my homeroom about the spelling bee.
I have no analogies on my walls. Apparently, analogies, or the lack there of, can all but get you fired during walk throughs.
I don't have a single social studies thing on my walls.
I have no lesson plans for next week.
Or a sub called in for my writing taks test training on Thursday.
I haven't sent my best friend a card for her birthday.
I don't know when I'm taking my ESL test that I have to take before the year is up.
Or my GT update.
I have five family shoots to edit.
and a wedding on Saturday.
I don't read every day with Mason.
I haven't put away laundry in two weeks.
Or mopped in three.


I'm tired.
I mean tired.
Tired of never feeling good enough.
I'm afraid I'm about to have to give something up.
And the only thing to give up is the thing I most want to hold on to.

But maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and the redeeming glory of a new day will wash away these overly dramatic whiney woe-is-me tears.

I hope.

6:24am

I'm about to leave my house to go to school.
It's 6:24am.
If someone could please explain how to work smarter, not harder, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Because this is ridiculous.
absolutely ridiculous. :)

flower therapy.

After photographing this really beautiful family ; )...
... I stopped by sunken gardens and took advantage of the evening light. My 50mm lens, camera and I had a very lovely time. I really do feel like photographing these immobile immaculate flowers is a great stress reliever for me...And I wanted to share my favorites. :)

This one is my favorite. Only God could have thought to make a spotted flower.

is there anything better?

than waking up with a jolt and fearing that you overslept only to remember that it's Saturday.
Or
your husband letting you sleep in on Saturday while he gets the boys up?
Or
Sleeping like a rock thanks to two nyquil?
Or
your husband buying donuts and making coffee?
Or
the sound of boys running around the house with light up swords as they fight "the minions"?
Or
this weather?

No, I don't think so.
Saturdays are just wonderful.

Some common truths about teaching.

• when you meet a parent, you think to yourself, "Oh, now I get it."
• you find yourself telling your spouse, "I don't know what we could have for dinner. Can you think of a way that we could solve this problem?" in your most teachery voice.
  
• Things like pta luncheons or a movie on constitution day get you through a week.
  
• staying up late means past 9.
  
• when walking somewhere with your own child, you accidentally request to see his "line procedures."
• you know the exact procedure for microwaving Lean Cuisine's Terriyaki Chicken dinner by heart
  
• you hope you get sick so you can have a day off.
• you get sick but you don't take a day off because then you'd still have to prepare for a sub and deal with the aftermath when you return.
• You begin to doubt yourself when several students ask how to spell the same word in one day..."you spell friend..f-r-i-e-n-d..." right? I before e...except after c...or is this one of those weird words...f-r-e-i-n-d? Nooooo...that's wrong!...isn't it?
  
• going to the bathroom is a luxury.
  
• you can eat any size or type meal in 28 minutes or less
• you don't even have the courtesy to lie when someone asks you how you're doing. You just wish there was a one word answer more descriptive than "deadtired."
  
• you might have held a stack of warm copies to your body on one of the days that your classroom's AC won't budge from the arctic chill setting.
  
• You have warmed your hands in front of your LCD projector's fan.
  
• You wish you had a device that shouted a certain student's name every three minutes or so. Just so you didn't have to.
• You're amazed at the mental debate in your mind over your answer to this question: May I go to the restroom? what will she miss? If i say yes to her, others will want to go. does she even need to go? i wish I could go pee. if you say no she could wet her pants and her parents could sue you. but she'll miss the notes. But she might really need to pee. but then they'll all ask...aarrghh! "Yes, go pee. But sneak there so you don't start the bathroom migration."
  
• you can tell anyone at any given time the exact number of days until the next break.
  
• you drink coffee for survival.
• your heart literally stops when the bell rings because THEY'RE COMING!

Fellow teachers, what can you add?

wednesday.

no tears. Close, but no actual liquid leakage from my eyes.

Wednesdays are just tough! Why?! It's got to be all in my head, right?

Tomorrow is Thursday. It WILL be a good day. I will NOT be overwhelmed. I teach 4th grade writing. NOT brain surgery. Life will probably continue should my students not fully understand every facet of adjectives and their role in the written word.

I might need to look into some stress management courses.

Lest you worry...

The roller coaster has morphed into what one might consider a very even keeled but speeding train ride.
I'm not plummeting. I'm not on some high peak. But I'm zipping along with a few bumps now and again.

Is it time for me to let go of the roller coaster metaphor?

Last week, after three weeks of five 50 minute switches a day, we 4th grade teachers decided it just wasn't working for our poor little 4th graders. It was too much switching and not enough class time.
After trying again and again and again to rewrite a schedule that put five teachers into 4 core subjects teaching only three switches a day (which by the way is impossible), we split 4th grade into two "teams" essentially.
The cool thing? I teach writing AND social studies now. I've ALWAYS wanted to teach social studies! I get to talk about Indians!
And I lost two groups of kids which is sad because there were some super sweet kiddos in those classes, but my class load was almost cut in half.
AND I have 90 minutes with each group of kids. Not 50. Which is amazing!

I feel like I can breathe. And my classroom isn't just a revolving door.

I'm a little worried though because tomorrow is Wednesday. I always cry on Wednesday. I don't really know why, but I do.

I'll keep you posted!

And one more random thing - today I saw a student I taught when I was student teacher. I taught her first grade. She's in 6th grade now.
I. am. old.

Grant. At dinner time.

And by dinner, yes, I do mean a microwaved bowl of spaghettios. It was Sunday okay. And rainy. And the first day of Sunday football...and I was just lazy. And thoroughly enjoying the cutest kid on the planet.

"Avoid eye contact. Avoid eye contact."

"just keep eating. The bigger the bites the better. Do not look at mom."

"You have what on your head?"


"oh, mom. You're so silly. You have a napkin on your head!"


"You crack me up!"

"Oh! I forgot! Do not look at mom! No matter how silly she is...avoid eye contact!"


Prior to dinner, I believe I caught Grant's first attempt at tattling on camera.