So Long, Saturdays.

I'm sorry for the ranty nature of the last post. Despite the fact that I'm still at work today, I am feeling a lot better about it all.

As some of you know, our school has really high expectations for our kids. This is a good thing. In order to help our students meet these high expectations, our school also has a Saturday Academy. Last year, I was somehow roped into volunteering to teach for Saturday Academy. This year, I vowed not to be a part of it...I wanted my Saturdays back. But, we needed someone to coordinate and run it. Despite my efforts I somehow, again, got roped into doing it.

Last night was the scramble to prepare for today -- the first day of Saturday Academy. It was also last night that I decided to own it and try my best to make it great.

So...I felt like today went great! The kids were amazing and eager. They really helped me recharge. It also showed me that 3rd graders truly are the very best grade to work with. (I had to teach 1st grade on Friday for a little bit, and I'll just say now that it didn't make me miss teaching at all.) Staff was incredibly flexible and just so inspiring.

In sum, the late night and early morning was worth it. I just hope it continues to be worth it...

Not to Complain But...

...you know what sucks??

Being at work on a Friday at 10:30pm...when you got to work at 6:30am...and having to come back nine hours later...on a SATURDAY.

Also, not having eaten dinner. AND, missing an Ice Cream party with the husband and friends because of being stuck. at work. at 10:30. on a Friday.

I had to say it.

This Title Does Not Reflect the Awesomeness of this Post.

Remember in that blog post a little while back when I mentioned that one of the sad things about not being a classroom teacher is that I have fewer stories of my own.  Instead, most of my stories begin with "...so a friend of mine..."

This is one of those stories.

So a friend of mine teaches first grade.  The first grade asks parents/guardians to supply a snack for the class based on a "snack calendar".  Parents are encouraged to bring in healthy snacks, but occasionally you get a parent that brings in fruit snacks or cookies.  So, this friend of mine, brings out the latest addition to the snack stockpile that was brought in by a parent.  It was a bucket of chocolate chip cookies...

...that clearly says "Dog Treats" on the front.  At second glance, you notice that chocolate is actually spelled "chocolit".

At the time, I had a hard time deciding if this was hilarious, or really sad.  But after looking at the bucket of dog treats and inspecting the ingredients I determined that I would consider it hilarious (I even labeled it "awesome").  There was nothing bad in the ingredients -- aside from the garlic powder, it had everything else you'd expect in a chocolate (or chocolit) chip cookie.  Also, as it was made with carob rather than chocolate, it would probably even fall under the healthy snack option.

Don't worry, my friend did not give out the dog treats for snack.

As a side note, I had actually been sitting on these pictures for a while now.  They were on my phone, and I did not discover how to transfer them from my phone to my computer until just now.  I feel like I have opened up a whole new world!

Mine-o.

So I bought myself a new toy.  Actually, it wasn't meant to be our new toy but rather a gift for someone else on Christmas.  My mistake came when I had it shipped to work which is where the need arose for something just like it...quickly.  That is how I came to open the Christmas gift that wasn't for me, and the Mino became mine.

It's a Flip Mino!

To be honest, I don't really need it at this point in my life.  My life is not all that interesting and there are very few things (if any) in that require videographic (see how I just made up a word?) documentation.  Still, it's pretty darned cool.  I predict that there may be some ridiculous videos of my cats showing up in the next couple of days.  

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Cody Muffin Top.

[Singing]: Big cat in a little bowl.  Big cat in a little bowl.

This is actually one of Cody's favorite sleeping spots.  It should be noted that we have a similar, but larger bowl on the other side of the couch.  I think he opted for the one under the warm lamp that night.

Heartwarming (if not grammatically correct).

Even though I don't have my own students anymore, at least I still have my old ones...

This could not have come at the end of a more hectic day for me.  Warm fuzzies.

The Haunted House.

In order to help my brother and sister-in-law keep their sanity, Jamie and I opted to stay at a nearby hotel rather than crashing on their air mattress.  One thing that was unexpected was the fact that almost every hotel in the area was booked because of Fleet Week in San Francisco -- people love the Blue Angels!

Very fortunately for us, there was one room available at a nearby B&B.  It was only a few hilly blocks away from their house, and was relatively affordable (when you think about San Francisco prices).  The one catch?  That house was haunted.

Actually haunted.

These are all things that were in our room.

But, the room was actually very comfortable...and as I mentioned before, convenient.  Good times.

The Cutest Zaki Sauces Yet.

Jamie and I just got back from our short trip to San Francisco.  The flight over and back went well and there were no unexpected twists or turns.  In fact, we managed to get back a little early!  I downloaded the pictures from this weekend, and here are a few (of many to come!)...

This is Leah (with Riley in the background).

And here is Riley, rocking her pink jumpsuit.

Although it is still very early (there are only 12 days old, after all) I feel like we can see a little bit of difference in their personalities.  Leah's a little more vocal and is able to bust out of her swaddle (earning her the nickname, Houdini).  Whereas, Riley is more laid-back and will pretty much tolerate anything.  Even when her dad somehow zips her knee up to her tummy.  Twice.  Leah gets a cute little dimple on her cheek when she feeds, and Riley can down a bottle in record time.  Both of them are beautiful.

The proud abuelita (holding Riley) and abuelito (holding Leah).

Leah.

The family!

I had a wonderful time visiting my nieces...it was really hard to tear myself away from them.  I loved every little coo and squawk from them, and learned a lot about caring for teeny-tiny babies.  I can now prepare and clean a bottle, feed a newborn, change the ultimate in poopy diapers (thanks, especially to Leah), and burp like a pro.  I cannot wait to see them again...

A Promise.

Mark my words -- more updates are coming soon!

I actually have been stockpiling things to blog about. I have been dutifully taking pictures and preparing them to upload into my computer. A couple of things getting in the way of blogging about them now:

1) I'm in San Francisco! Totally loving my beautiful twin nieces.

2) The brother's internet is down -- making it impossible to post during the day in between the twin naps.

3) I forgot to bring the cable to connect my camera to the computer -- something sort of necessary to upload the pictures I have been taking.

But, there is the promise of new pictures and posts to come! Stay tuned...

Short Post.

I wish teachers were as entertaining as students.

One of the drawbacks of my new position is that I spend a lot of time teaching teachers about new strategies and doing research myself on instructional breakthroughs.  However, I don't get to actually implement them myself in the classroom.  Sometimes I wish I could.  But, right around Sunday afternoon, when I don't have to write lesson plans, I am happy that I have my new position.

So, it's October and we are having gorgeous weather over here.  It's nice and cool, and some leaves are just beginning to change.  It makes me miss being at Williams where there is real Fall weather.

First Lady.

This is another thing I'm not sure I ever mentioned in a previous post: Jamie is now the president of a volunteer group supporting Obama. As part of this role, he must schmooze and put together events, and fundraise. Somehow, I have avoided having to go to all of these events and schmooze/fundraise. In fact, I've only been to one. It was today. I figured it would be the best option for me since it was an Energy Panel -- something I'm interested in! -- and would involve less schmoozing than most other events. (I'm anti-schmooze, pro-mindyourownbusiness.)

I felt sort of like a celebrity since everyone knew who Jamie was. I also got to shake Bob Sussman's hand. I hear he is important. After I shook his hand, I learned that Sussman was the Deputy Administrator of the EPA under Clinton and a current Obama energy advisor. Important!

Apparently, while I am interacting with 3 and 4 year olds all day, Jamie is mingling with the bigwigs. I bet my interactions are 100% more cute.

Life Update.

I've decided that I should try (yet again) to be more proactive on the blog-front. What prompted this decision was the fact that looking back at the last month of blogging it has been 1) sparse and 2) relegated mostly to internet videos or gossip. I should be posting more about my life.

Aside from the obvious -- most exciting -- part of my life: the birth of my two new nieces, I have been very, very busy with work. I got "promoted" into my new position last year and was working all summer (so long to the chapter in my life that included summer vacation). I feel like I've adapted to my new position very well. At times (read: all of the time) I feel like I'm doing my job along with the jobs of many others, but that is the norm when it comes to teaching/education.

Sadly, I no longer have the wonderful stories of my students at cocktail parties. However I am privy to many of the stories of my mentees. Which can be just as good, once you get past the fact that most of the stories begin with "A friend of mine..." What I have found is that many of my new "students" (i.e. the teaching staff) are just as interesting and full of drama. Just fewer poop-related stories. I love my staff. Most days, I love my job.

Jamie is doing well. My one complaint would be that he seems to be in love with Barack Obama. While I can't really blame him, I do get jealous that Jamie spends more of his time concerned about, thinking of, planning for, and devoted to Mr. Obama. Hopefully, it will all pay off in November and I'll get my doting husband back.

So that's a very incomplete look at what's been going on in life lately. It's been a lot of Barack, a lot of weddings, and a lot of work.

Wondertwins.

Seriously...

Most. Beautiful. Babies. Ever.

(That's Leah on the left and Riley on the right.)

Today!

Today the sun shone a little brighter, the birds sang a little louder, and the flowers smelled a little lovelier than normal.  The simple explanation is because there are TWO new additions to our family today.

A BIG welcome to Riley and Leah -- my newborn nieces!  

So I know I haven't really mentioned the approaching birth of my twin (!) nieces, but I wasn't sure if my brother and sister-in-law would be okay with me sharing out their life on the internet.  Then my brother went and made himself a blog and, in my book, that makes it fair game for me.  I will, however, hold off on putting up baby pictures until I get their approval.  Y'know, them being the proud, protective, parents (!) and all.

The Longest PSA Ever.

Maybe not, but it seems pretty long.  (I still quadruple-checked that I was registered).

I also thought it was funny that Ashton (he and I are on first name basis now) is wearing a HW cap.