it's almost...

...the ladies retreat! it's almost the ladies retreat! it's almost the ladies retreat!

:)

:)

:)

:)

:)

rock the pumpkin.

ellie was a pumpkin princess (get it? green shirt - stem, orange skirt - pumpkin, tiara), gray was a puppy (see? there are socks safety pinned to his sweatsuit hood). i was troy aikman complete with black grease under my eyes (aka smudged black eyeliner). oh, and addie is just too stinkin cute. also, my cake for the cake walk. fun times. happy halloween!

a halloween skeleton.

i think someone added extra minutes to today because in those extra minutes, i have managed to find the time to become extremely weepy this afternoon.

i don't know if maybe it's the halloween weekend, which itself isn't that meaningful to me, but when it passes it will officially be the holiday season. thanksgiving...christmas...coming. and i'm in pain over it.

i'm sad that i don't have time to do things i love to do. i feel like i just exist right now. so many realms of my life that are typically so important have just evaporated.

poof. gone. no mas.

i feel skeletal without them.

can you see through me?

because the spot that's usually filled with conversations with friends is empty. my etsy-perusing, idea-compiling spot? not there. the she-does-do-at-least-minimal-housework spot is definitely mia. the ocassional-cooked-at-home-meals spot? lost. the taking-photos-of-babies-to-post-on-the-blog spot needs serious cpr.

i feel like moments with the babies seem bittersweet because they are so rare, because i know so many moments are going on void of my audience. i inhale them with desperation when they happen, all while fighting the urge to be annoyed because the babies seem only to fuss unless they are both in my arms from the moment i walk in to the moment they go to bed.

why am i annoyed by that? what is wrong with me?!

***

always, always, i dream of sweet-smelling, calm holidays. ones filled with fun, creative family activities and yummy-yet-simple meals cooked at home that fill bellies to happy. i dream of making extra chicken chili and finding the time to drop it off at a busy friend's house. i dream of glittery, toddler-decorated winter garlands for the mantle and homemade applesauce and pecan pies.

how will i do that? when? i can't even gather the inclination to find the glitter, let alone orchestrate the seemingly momumental task of getting ellie to sprinkle it on paper snowflakes.

***

forgive my lament. it's just that i feel see-through.

and it's cold being a skeleton. i need to get warm.

do you have any idea how happy you can make 6th graders by dressing up as a rock star on costume day at school?

very. you can't see it here, but the guitar hero guitar (thanks, landon...) is the icing on the cake.

my classroom, which is about to change.

these are pictures i took at the beginning of the year, and never got around to posting. there are a few minor differences in my room right now from these shots. mostly, the desks are in a different arrangement, and there's a lot more STUFF everywhere.

but, as we speak, there are workers putting the finishing touches on BRAND-NEW-REALLY-BIG portables outside. the 6th grade should be moving there in the next few days. woohoo!! i am beyond excited because my kids are packed in our current rooms like sardines. three of the four sixth grade rooms (mine included) used to be the nursery. and my journalism room used to be the nursing mother's room. nice.

thoughts on my very first classroom?

Welcome!

My English Classroom

My Yearbook Classroom

quick!

somebody post something amazingly interesting that i need to look at!

i just happened to click on something that was a blogspot page during a google search, and it worked.

so...i really wish i had something great to post. i have some pictures of my classroom. maybe i should put those up.

you know you can't argue.

 

meant to be.

these days, scott and kelly are renovating a super sweet old house (built in 1925) in oak cliff, and during recent demo they discovered some things that i think mean this house was meant to be theirs.

first, they found a super cool OLD steel water pistol in the attic. according to some internet research, the gun was first produced in 1935. i found one that recently sold in an online auction for $600!! kelly says theirs is not for sale. :) i love the carved initials "JY."


here's my favorite part though: in the garage, they found four old annuals dated around 1935 from none other than SMU! i mean, seriously! how cool?? how appropriate.


i am very excited for them, and i can't wait to see how fantastic they make their house. the combo of scott and kelly is sure to make a magazine-worthy house.

cold.

i was literally hoping for a fever yesterday as i drove to walgreens to buy a new thermometer. the one i already had kept reading 97.8, and that couldn't be right. achy, exhausted and downright sick, i wanted a fever to validate my pain. a fever would legitimize staying home and hiding under the covers.

at walgreens, all the cheap thermometers were gone. the cheapest one was $15. "that's fine," i thought. "at least i know it's a quality piece of equipment. and surely it'll read that i have a fever."

i bought it, along with a bag of mellowcreme pumpkins, and took it to the car. if it was a fever, i was going to drive my miserable self to the school to get my sub folder ready. if it wasn't, i was going to suck it up and just stop at heb to buy my milk monster (aka grayson) more milk.

i unwrapped my new sick stick, stuck it under my tongue and closed my eyes. thirty seconds later, "beep, beep, beep."

97.8.

stupid thing must be broken. that or i'm officially owner of the worst cold on the planet.