Cuddling

I just wish that our camera didn't make all the pictures come out all orangey. I can't wait till Christmas, when we will get a NEW camera! Yay! Orange or not, I thought these were cute:

Just Lots of Stuff

So my long-term sub job came to an end two weeks ago. The first week after it ended was difficult. I missed my kids so much (boy, did they send me off in a grand way. One class even threw a party for me) and I found out that I did not get the 9th grade position for which I'd interviewed. But things are getting better, and I'm still subbing. Also, the manager at Palais Royal called me in to work again. This was my first week back, and I'm having a blast so far. The new manager is so great and we have the same fun crew, with a few new fun people. We really all do mix well as co-workers. It is a blessing.

Halloween was fun. It was a long time ago, and I didn't get any pictures, but it was fun. Noodle was a dalmation. Chicken Nugget was a bat, this being the third year running. Banana was Thomas the Tank Engine. He is WAY into Thomas these days. But he didn't really keep his costume on during the Halloween carnival. We always take the kids to the festival at the church up the street, rather than trick-or-treating. It's because they have free dinner (hot dogs and stuff), lots of games, tons of candy and cookies, bounce houses, etc. etc., and most of our neighbors go too. It's always lots of fun. Oh, and if you're wondering what Baby Butterbean was . . . well, he was a baby. And he stayed home with me while Dad took the big kids to the carnival.

My dad recently had his bladder removed. About nine or so years ago, it was discovered that he had some small cancerous tumors in his bladder. They were recurring, every couple of years or so, but always very, very small and easily removed. His last surgery to remove some tumors was back in July. Daddy never really bounced back from that surgery, as he had always bounced back and recovered well from previous surgeries. The cancer had become too difficult to remove and the doctor said that the bladder needed to come out. So just after we left my parents' house to return to Somewhere Near Houston after Hurricane Ike, Daddy had the surgery. He also had some lymph nodes removed, and because microscopic cancer cells were found in the lymph nodes, Daddy is taking chemo once a week. He is only getting one chemical, and he's been handling everything like a champ. Before his bladder removal surgery, he had been feeling really sick and was losing weight. Now he's feeling much better, is recovering from his surgery well, doing great with the chemo, and is back to his old eating habits :o)! Yay, Daddy!

Mission trip stuff is going great. We'll be buying plane tickets to go to the Czech Republic very soon! I'll write some more detailed information about the mission trip soon. In the meantime, I am raising money for the trip. I'll be sending fundraising e-mails and letters soon, too. Look for yours in the mail!

I had a great birthday. My sweetie hubby got me some great gifts, including a beautiful new comforter set and roses that he sent me at school. He also let me get away to Conroe to spend the weekend with Kelly and her sister, Nikki. We had a great time with each other, Baby Butterbean, and Kelly's nephew, whom she was taking care of while her other sister was out of town. They baby boys are just about two weeks apart in age, and we were in baby heaven. And when they were sleeping, we were in girl-talk heaven. We also went shopping at Sam Moon (AWESOME!!!!) and ate at Macaroni Grill. It was so much fun.

Our Thanksgiving was nice and relaxing, just us. But it was sandwiched between ER visits! Crazy. Wednesday night, Baby Butterbean had such a hard time sleeping. He'd had a little cold, but it had turned into wheezing and coughing and he just couldn't sleep or eat. By midnight, I knew he needed to be seen. So I took him on in to the hospital in our town. He was seen pretty quickly and got some prescriptions, and even including the trip to the pharmacy, we were home within three hours.

Banana had been running a temp since Wednesday night, but it was nothing alarming, and he had no more symptoms. He ran a temp all day Thanksgiving, but was still eating and playing and had no other symptoms. By yesterday morning, his temp had risen to 105.8, and I was in a panic. Our PCP was in Dallas for the holiday, but after calling him, he told me to go to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston right away. I was hesitant, because I'd had Baby Butterbean there once before for suspected pneumonia and waited six hours to see a doctor. I told this to Dr. G, but he insisted I had to go there and that he would call the hospital for me if he had to. After waiting three hours and having Banana's temp checked twice and getting one dose of Motrin, we were finally taken to a room. Two doctors examined him and found nothing wrong (lungs clear, ears and throat looked fine . . .) and they were ready to send us home with the diagnosis of "virus." I told them that Dr. G wanted them to call, and I could tell that they weren't crazy about having to call him, but I'm so glad they did. Long story short, Dr. G ordered bloodwork, and the bloodwork indicated more than just a virus. The white count was really elevated, alarmingly so, so Banana got a chest x-ray (which showed no problems) and a shot of super-antibiotics and a prescription for more antibiotics. His fever was still 105 this morning at about 4AM. We follow up with Dr. G on Monday. By the way, I got to the ER in Houston at 11:15AM yesterday and left at 8:30PM. I felt sorry for those waiting after we left, because the nurse told me there were 85 patients waiting for to be seen.

Whew! I think that's everything for now! I'll get back to everyone after all my laundry is washed, folded, and put away . . . on second thought, no I won't. Ya'll might never hear from me again if I did that!

Thank You So Much, Boss!

I love the fish so much! And even before I read the note, I knew in my heart why you'd picked them . . .

But you may not have known how much I needed the encouragement.

I love you, Boss. Thank you!

Photo Shoot

Post #316

Hey, there!

It's interesting that this is post ends with a 16. 16 years ago today I was almost 16. Now I teach 16-year-olds for a living. And I look at them and think . . . has it really been 16 years? REALLY? Crazy. It doesn't feel like it.

So here's the deal:

When I got the job that I now have, it was as a long-term sub position with the prospect of becoming a contracted position. The teacher for whom I've been subbing was out on medical leave.

Yesterday, that teacher showed up. No warning, nothing. I walk into my (her) room yesterday and she was waiting for me so that she could talk to me about taking over on Monday. Though I was taken by surprise (my last meeting with my boss was one in which I was assured I'd have this job till the end of the year, and maybe longer!), I tried to smile through it and work to figure out some times that I could meet with her and bring her up to speed.

It's not so bad, though. I may be getting a new job - a contracted position! I had an interview yesterday for a 9th grade position, at the 9th grade campus of the same district. So, I wouldn't really be going anywhere - just next door. If I get that job. And I hope I do. Subbing is great and all, and I wish this had turned into a contracted position, and I really love these 11th-graders, but . . . see, in my house we have this habit of eating. And sub pay don't pay so good. Doesn't pay so well. Whatever.

So, I'll keep ya'll posted about all that stuff. In the meantime, I need to post some pictures. My blog is so BLAH without pics of my kids! My kids are cute. They just are. And I love them. It works out well like that in my house.

And I love all of you! And ya'll need to come down to balmy Texas and visit us. We not only love you, we miss you terribly. And you are very good-looking . . . do I need to keep going, or are you packing your bags already?

Right on, CBB

I love my friend CBB so much.

She's trying to help a friend with some questions and wrote this post as a result. I loved reading it. I wanted to share it. I hope you enjoy reading it, too.

I May As Well Out Myself

It feels like a really great day.

My guy won.

Yep, I voted for Obama. I never in my life thought I'd be labeled as a bleeding-heart liberal. I feel like I've been running a gauntlet. It would have been really easy to vote for McCain. I mean, it would have been easy to go with the crowd so that I wouldn't have to tell people that I didn't vote for the "right guy." But I couldn't deny my convictions. And I wouldn't have had an easy time living with myself if I hadn't voted my convictions.

As far as who the "right guy" is, that was each person's decision according to his or her conscience. The only reason I mention it here has to do with a meeting I attended recently. Upon entering the meeting, the conversation began to center around the election and the need to pray. I didn't disagree. But then it became clear that there was a sweeping assumption that everyone in that room was voting for McCain. In my naivete, I hadn't realized what a big deal it was not to vote for McCain. I just thought that everybody was voting for the man they thought was best, and that they had their reasons, and that they were adult enough to make that decision. I only had myself to worry about. It was apparent in the meeting that I was the only one there not voting for the "right guy."

The climate in that room scared me just a bit. But, I got over it. As I have gotten over people telling me they will pray for me if I were to vote for Obama. Hm . . . I won't get prayed for if I vote for McCain? I could really use the prayer either way.

So . . . because I suck at rhetoric, I'm just going to post links to articles that say what I want to say better than I can say it.

Love to you all. I'm so thankful that we live in a place that allows us to make these decisions, and then to freely disagree with one another, or even with our government, if we so choose. I hope that if you disagree with me, we'll be able to have some good discussions (even though I suck at discussions about politics) and come out on the other side even better friends than we were before.

Voting is Cool

My mom told me about her dad and his voting practices. He would say to my mom and grandma, "Ya'll need to go vote." Or, "Did ya'll vote yet?" Probably before or after work, over morning coffee or afternoon coffee. I don't know that it happened like that, but I'd like to think so. Pappa sipping his early morning coffee, before he was off to do whatever errand or job he had that day (he was a plumber). Before my mom was 23 and married to my dad. Grandma in the kitchen, frying some eggs and bacon.

"Ya'll be sure and go vote today," Pappa would say. Never demanding. Just reminding.

And never, my mother said, sharing his political views. Politics were a private issue for Pappa. Mamma said he never talked about them and never told anyone how they should vote.

I loved my Pappa. I always looked forward to seeing him. He died in 1996. He would be surprised, I think, by the way that politics has changed in just the short years since he passed.

Politics, anymore, is definitely NOT a private issue.

Not that it should be. I don't know. You share, I'll share, we can talk about it. But I wonder about Pappa's motives for not sharing. Was it that he was trusting enough of his friends and family to vote their heart, their conscience, and to vote for the right person, so far as they could figure, anyway? Or, could be, that he just didn't want to talk about it. I don't know. But that was his right. Talk about it or don't.

I'm not going to talk about politics. But what I am going to say is, how cool that we live in a place that allows us to vote as we choose. That allows us to vote AT ALL. Not only that, that allows us to stand around the polling area, or sit around in Sunday school or at work or at Wal-Mart or wherever, and discuss our vote. Even disagree with one another! Freely, openly. And when the man is elected, if we don't like him, we can say that! Out loud! Not all places in the world have this freedom.

I trust you to vote for the right guy, so far as you figure who would be the right guy. If we disagree, that's OK. I may not vote for the same guy, after all. But we can stand around somewhere and discuss it later.