We're officially waiting for our new baby to be born!
She was due on Tuesday, March 6 - today is Friday, March 9.
I DO know better than to expect that she would be born on her due date, but COME ON BABY!
We can't wait to meet you!
Friday, March 09, 2012
Thursday, August 11, 2011
A new addition...
So, I am 11 weeks pregnant, as of tomorrow, and I have obviously shot full-speed into nesting. Of course, I never had any doubts that I would take up this pregnancy urge. Usually, I've read, this habit doesn't kick in until the fifth month, leave it to me to be an over achiever! :)
Aaron has thus far humored me, and been supporting all of my cleaning and reorganizing instincts, including collecting all of the nursery furniture that we'll need, even though I haven't even exited the first trimester successfully yet.
We found the craigslist deal (above) for $15! So great, but needed to be scrubbed out and sprayed off (only a few strange stains- eesh). But perfectly useable!
Hooray for deals.
Hooray for nesting.
Hooray for baby O-R!
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Money for technology in education
http://www.technologygrantnews.com/grant-money-index-type.html
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/04/tips-for-saving-money-and-finding-free.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_5378976_classroom-grants-technology.html
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/09/10-ways-to-get-free-money-classroom.html
http://www.iste.org/welcome.aspx
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/edgrants.html
http://www.teacherscount.org/teacher/grants.shtml
http://www.grantwrangler.com/
http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/
http://www.toolfactory.com/olympus_contest/olympus_teacher.htm
http://www.technologygrantnews.com/grant-money-index-type.html
http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2011/04/tips-for-saving-money-and-finding-free.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_5378976_classroom-grants-technology.html
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/09/10-ways-to-get-free-money-classroom.html
http://www.iste.org/welcome.aspx
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/edgrants.html
http://www.teacherscount.org/teacher/grants.shtml
http://www.grantwrangler.com/
http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/
http://www.toolfactory.com/olympus_contest/olympus_teacher.htm
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Spring Hopes
Given that successful people begin with the end in mind (Thank you Stephen R. Covey), I have decided to set some goals for myself for this Spring... I'm also procrastinating from starting this day, because the first day of Spring here in Minnesota is not exactly inspiring.
Thanks to the trusty, online version of the Farmers' Almanac, I know that today is the first day of Spring, and the first day of Summer will be June 21. I welcome the longer days (yay for more daylight hours, especially the fact that it will still be light after suppertime!), the dark mornings will be challenging for a while yet.
Well, let me get down to it.
My hopes and dreams for this Spring are:
1.) Finish my Capstone @ Hamline University and graduate with my Master's Degree!
2.) Plan & teach my YES! class.
3.) Plan and travel an excellent Boundary Waters trip with two dear friends.
4.) Pick, cook, and can incredibly tasty strawberry jam.
5.) Successfully plan and solicit at least one wall of art for a gO-Rila gallery July show (in our house).
6.) Build or buy a raised bed and fill it with tasty plants.
7.) Construct and install our rainbarrel.
8.) Attend this sale and start composting in the backyard.
9.) Go to the St. Paul Farmers' Market (a bunch of times) and cook at least five recipes from my favorite cookbook. Serving up the Harvest
10.) Go to a live concert with my life partner.
Given that successful people begin with the end in mind (Thank you Stephen R. Covey), I have decided to set some goals for myself for this Spring... I'm also procrastinating from starting this day, because the first day of Spring here in Minnesota is not exactly inspiring.
Thanks to the trusty, online version of the Farmers' Almanac, I know that today is the first day of Spring, and the first day of Summer will be June 21. I welcome the longer days (yay for more daylight hours, especially the fact that it will still be light after suppertime!), the dark mornings will be challenging for a while yet.
Well, let me get down to it.
My hopes and dreams for this Spring are:
1.) Finish my Capstone @ Hamline University and graduate with my Master's Degree!
2.) Plan & teach my YES! class.
3.) Plan and travel an excellent Boundary Waters trip with two dear friends.
4.) Pick, cook, and can incredibly tasty strawberry jam.
5.) Successfully plan and solicit at least one wall of art for a gO-Rila gallery July show (in our house).
6.) Build or buy a raised bed and fill it with tasty plants.
7.) Construct and install our rainbarrel.
8.) Attend this sale and start composting in the backyard.
9.) Go to the St. Paul Farmers' Market (a bunch of times) and cook at least five recipes from my favorite cookbook. Serving up the Harvest
10.) Go to a live concert with my life partner.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
To whom it may concern:
I am in my third-year as a first grade teacher in a Spanish Immersion school here in the Twin Cities. I am happy in my job: my students are rewarding, my co-workers are enthusiastic and supportive, my principal works hard to encourage my efforts and share his wisdom when I need his expertise. I’m a happy teacher. I love my job.
With a storm of negativity raging outside our school doors each day, calling into question my roles as nurturer, educator, and professional, I am, for the first time, considering leaving my chosen vocation. I say vocation, because I did not choose this essential profession expecting to make very much money. As cliché as it may sound, I want to teach because I want to make a difference. I was called to teach like people are called to their Faith or service in our country’s military. I knew in my heart that it was right.
I am bi-lingual. I am young. I am well-educated. I am good at what I do. However, like so many of you, I make just enough to help pay our mortgage, buy food at Aldi, and shop at consignment stores for my professional clothes. My undergraduate and graduate student loan bills arrive reliably in the mail, and with talks of wage freezes, I can’t help but worry.
Our Nation needs a population of educated citizens. In order to achieve that, we need high-quality teachers. The collective pointing of an angry finger at my profession, accusing me of making more than I’m worth (currently $40,000 a year before taxes), threatening the essential professional bargaining rights that I am due, and calling me lazy for working only nine months a year, does not motivate me to continue teaching your children how to read, add, subtract, share, and solve problems with words and not their hands. It’s also terrible advertising for enticing potentially incredible future-teachers. The American public doesn’t demand drastic pay cuts for family practitioners, or dentists, or opticians or even lawyers.
When problem solving, it’s important to focus on positive steps to take while planning for essential changes. I often tell my first graders: You need a break. Take a deep breath, calm down, and come back to the situation when you are willing to help solve problems instead of make them.
Please support your community’s teachers. We work really hard for your children, and we are worth every penny that we earn.
Respectfully,
Annie Olson-Reiners
I am in my third-year as a first grade teacher in a Spanish Immersion school here in the Twin Cities. I am happy in my job: my students are rewarding, my co-workers are enthusiastic and supportive, my principal works hard to encourage my efforts and share his wisdom when I need his expertise. I’m a happy teacher. I love my job.
With a storm of negativity raging outside our school doors each day, calling into question my roles as nurturer, educator, and professional, I am, for the first time, considering leaving my chosen vocation. I say vocation, because I did not choose this essential profession expecting to make very much money. As cliché as it may sound, I want to teach because I want to make a difference. I was called to teach like people are called to their Faith or service in our country’s military. I knew in my heart that it was right.
I am bi-lingual. I am young. I am well-educated. I am good at what I do. However, like so many of you, I make just enough to help pay our mortgage, buy food at Aldi, and shop at consignment stores for my professional clothes. My undergraduate and graduate student loan bills arrive reliably in the mail, and with talks of wage freezes, I can’t help but worry.
Our Nation needs a population of educated citizens. In order to achieve that, we need high-quality teachers. The collective pointing of an angry finger at my profession, accusing me of making more than I’m worth (currently $40,000 a year before taxes), threatening the essential professional bargaining rights that I am due, and calling me lazy for working only nine months a year, does not motivate me to continue teaching your children how to read, add, subtract, share, and solve problems with words and not their hands. It’s also terrible advertising for enticing potentially incredible future-teachers. The American public doesn’t demand drastic pay cuts for family practitioners, or dentists, or opticians or even lawyers.
When problem solving, it’s important to focus on positive steps to take while planning for essential changes. I often tell my first graders: You need a break. Take a deep breath, calm down, and come back to the situation when you are willing to help solve problems instead of make them.
Please support your community’s teachers. We work really hard for your children, and we are worth every penny that we earn.
Respectfully,
Annie Olson-Reiners
Saturday, August 07, 2010
I started to post a rant on a blog I bumped into, but decided to move it here-- my rant got a bit long, and I didn't want to stir the pot all in one place!
In response to this post: Letter to Teacher about Green School Supplies
I would like to say this:
I wanted to add my two cents as a "community-centered" first grade teacher...
First, let me say that I am VERY pro-"green." My first degree is in environmental science, and I teach with the heart (and head) of an environmental educator.
Brand names = absolutely NO loyalty to any ONE company... crayons are crayons, some will debate me here- to each their own, but come on! No big diff.
Paper and notebooks: send whatever you are most comfortable with-- I always look for the paper with the highest post-consumer recycled content I can find. Honestly, a lot of it eventually ends up in the recycle anyway (many sweet, handmade odes end up in the recycling at home, GOD FORBID the kiddos take offense or doubt my adoration of their works, but they still go to the recycling plant)
Hand sanitizer: YUCK! Kids, nine times out of ten, WANT to use this crap... I teach (yes, teach) them how to wash their hands with soap and water and even if they insist upon using this disinfectant crap, we wash our hands after-- that DOES NOT guarantee that they don't immediately stick their fingers into their noses-- let's be real here, people!
As much time and thought and moral-dillema-inducing-hemming-and-hawing you've likely put into your school supply purchases, "your" supplies very quickly become "our" supplies and I DO NOT have the space, time, energy, patience to keep your child's supplies separate from the community supplies-- unless your child has some life-threatening allergy. (*In which case send more ziplocks!)
Your child's crayons will be used by children in first grade that need crayons-- they might even be (omg) children whose parents buy at Walmart, drive an over-sized SUV and vote Republican. I'm not enthused about it either, but all children in my classroom use crayons, which I am happy about. I will not guarantee that it will be your child that uses your supplies-- and really, sharing and relative equality is something that most children learn to LOVE at school. If you only want "your" children to use "their" supplies- homeschool or plop your kids in a bubble or something. They don't get to hide anything in their desks either (and not tell me or the other kids about it) because
1. They don't have a desk- welcome to the world kids, you get tables to work on and 2. It's dishonest and greedy- two things you likely don't want to encourage.
"Your" child can use "their" own crayons in "their" own home.. but then, they might have siblings, or neighbors, or friends- let it go people, they're crayons.
Ziplocks: In my classroom, I use a lot of ziplocks-
ziplocks to store homemade playdough in the fridge, to ziplock open containers of paints shut to make them more child-accessible and less of a mess. We also grow beans in ziplocks so that the kids can see EVERY part of the plant- roots, seed, shoots, etc. We send home guided reading books in ziplocks because they are waterproof, can be closed, (need I mention contain the various ingredients in the bag?), as well as hold up to a mild amount of mistreatment, and can be easily replaced.
I also use ziplocks to seal up extra class snacks in the snack cabinet so as not to lure rodents or molds or bacteria. Ziplocks hold teeth that fall out, undies that get soiled in an accident, all the parts of jewelry, toys, hair ties, clothing from the (insert annoying brought-from-home distraction tool here) that break into a million pieces when the kids play with them and they break.
Paper towels (wow, I've never asked for these) and kleenex:
Kleenex= essential. I CANNOT tell you how many of your children (yes, your child) spends a lot of the day (nearly every day) with their fingers in their nose, (not to mention other regions of their tiny bodies) and then in their mouth. When a child begins to pick their nose in my classroom, I remind them where the kleenexes are in our classroom, and when they continue, or "sneak" their boogies into their mouths, I remind them that they need to wash their hands. Kleenexes catch other things though too:
Teeth: the average first grader in my classroom loses 4-7 teeth in my classroom over the course of the year. Many of them come out with blood- which I'm sure I don't need to remind you is a biohazard, and no matter how much I love them, need to treat with universal precautions.
Snacks: When parents don't send napkins, kleenexes separate your child's snack from the germy (no mater what) table surface.
Gum/Candy: When your child shows up to school with candy or gum in their mouth, it ends up in a kleenex and goes into the trash.
Bugs: When they suddenly proclaim that there's a spider on the floor during morning meeting-- unfortunately, 8 times out of 10, it ends up squashed into a kleenex. If we have time (a lot) or another container at the ready (rarely) we try to spare the lives of our insect and arachnid friends and then release them back outside- but this is the best case scenario.
Again, your moral green choices are absolutely appreciated-- honestly! Hooray for you, I'm with you. When I have children, I will try to make equally informed and responsible choices-- but school is where your child begins to learn how to get along in the world without you. (Sorry, I know it's sad, it makes me teary as well.)
It's really important that you provide excellent resources to your child- Eco-friendly pencils and paper, lunch boxes, clothing, art supplies, sneakers, not to mention backpacks- but what's even MORE important than what is going on the outside of your child, is what is going on inside your child. Healthy food (breakfast, please!!) and the ability to make educated and respectful decisions is what will help your child be happy and healthy while they learn to be responsible global citizens of our world. If they see happy, healthy adults that care about them making responsible and educated decisions consistently every day, they'll learn how to make them as well.
In response to this post: Letter to Teacher about Green School Supplies
I would like to say this:
I wanted to add my two cents as a "community-centered" first grade teacher...
First, let me say that I am VERY pro-"green." My first degree is in environmental science, and I teach with the heart (and head) of an environmental educator.
Brand names = absolutely NO loyalty to any ONE company... crayons are crayons, some will debate me here- to each their own, but come on! No big diff.
Paper and notebooks: send whatever you are most comfortable with-- I always look for the paper with the highest post-consumer recycled content I can find. Honestly, a lot of it eventually ends up in the recycle anyway (many sweet, handmade odes end up in the recycling at home, GOD FORBID the kiddos take offense or doubt my adoration of their works, but they still go to the recycling plant)
Hand sanitizer: YUCK! Kids, nine times out of ten, WANT to use this crap... I teach (yes, teach) them how to wash their hands with soap and water and even if they insist upon using this disinfectant crap, we wash our hands after-- that DOES NOT guarantee that they don't immediately stick their fingers into their noses-- let's be real here, people!
As much time and thought and moral-dillema-inducing-hemming-and-hawing you've likely put into your school supply purchases, "your" supplies very quickly become "our" supplies and I DO NOT have the space, time, energy, patience to keep your child's supplies separate from the community supplies-- unless your child has some life-threatening allergy. (*In which case send more ziplocks!)
Your child's crayons will be used by children in first grade that need crayons-- they might even be (omg) children whose parents buy at Walmart, drive an over-sized SUV and vote Republican. I'm not enthused about it either, but all children in my classroom use crayons, which I am happy about. I will not guarantee that it will be your child that uses your supplies-- and really, sharing and relative equality is something that most children learn to LOVE at school. If you only want "your" children to use "their" supplies- homeschool or plop your kids in a bubble or something. They don't get to hide anything in their desks either (and not tell me or the other kids about it) because
1. They don't have a desk- welcome to the world kids, you get tables to work on and 2. It's dishonest and greedy- two things you likely don't want to encourage.
"Your" child can use "their" own crayons in "their" own home.. but then, they might have siblings, or neighbors, or friends- let it go people, they're crayons.
Ziplocks: In my classroom, I use a lot of ziplocks-
ziplocks to store homemade playdough in the fridge, to ziplock open containers of paints shut to make them more child-accessible and less of a mess. We also grow beans in ziplocks so that the kids can see EVERY part of the plant- roots, seed, shoots, etc. We send home guided reading books in ziplocks because they are waterproof, can be closed, (need I mention contain the various ingredients in the bag?), as well as hold up to a mild amount of mistreatment, and can be easily replaced.
I also use ziplocks to seal up extra class snacks in the snack cabinet so as not to lure rodents or molds or bacteria. Ziplocks hold teeth that fall out, undies that get soiled in an accident, all the parts of jewelry, toys, hair ties, clothing from the (insert annoying brought-from-home distraction tool here) that break into a million pieces when the kids play with them and they break.
Paper towels (wow, I've never asked for these) and kleenex:
Kleenex= essential. I CANNOT tell you how many of your children (yes, your child) spends a lot of the day (nearly every day) with their fingers in their nose, (not to mention other regions of their tiny bodies) and then in their mouth. When a child begins to pick their nose in my classroom, I remind them where the kleenexes are in our classroom, and when they continue, or "sneak" their boogies into their mouths, I remind them that they need to wash their hands. Kleenexes catch other things though too:
Teeth: the average first grader in my classroom loses 4-7 teeth in my classroom over the course of the year. Many of them come out with blood- which I'm sure I don't need to remind you is a biohazard, and no matter how much I love them, need to treat with universal precautions.
Snacks: When parents don't send napkins, kleenexes separate your child's snack from the germy (no mater what) table surface.
Gum/Candy: When your child shows up to school with candy or gum in their mouth, it ends up in a kleenex and goes into the trash.
Bugs: When they suddenly proclaim that there's a spider on the floor during morning meeting-- unfortunately, 8 times out of 10, it ends up squashed into a kleenex. If we have time (a lot) or another container at the ready (rarely) we try to spare the lives of our insect and arachnid friends and then release them back outside- but this is the best case scenario.
Again, your moral green choices are absolutely appreciated-- honestly! Hooray for you, I'm with you. When I have children, I will try to make equally informed and responsible choices-- but school is where your child begins to learn how to get along in the world without you. (Sorry, I know it's sad, it makes me teary as well.)
It's really important that you provide excellent resources to your child- Eco-friendly pencils and paper, lunch boxes, clothing, art supplies, sneakers, not to mention backpacks- but what's even MORE important than what is going on the outside of your child, is what is going on inside your child. Healthy food (breakfast, please!!) and the ability to make educated and respectful decisions is what will help your child be happy and healthy while they learn to be responsible global citizens of our world. If they see happy, healthy adults that care about them making responsible and educated decisions consistently every day, they'll learn how to make them as well.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
To you, downstairs neighbor with a thing for extra-loud death metal at all hours:
You:
You are the kind of guy who bikes to work, and holds the door open for your neighbors. You're well-groomed and wear trendy dark clothes. You are slightly creepy looking, but you're normally smiling while you smoke your cigarettes outside the building, so that somehow makes you okay.
However:
You need to start saving up for some really nice BOSE, noise canceling headphones, maybe even some that are Bluetooth compatible. Because, dear downstairs neighbor, your taste in music is just really not ours'. We like you, we think, but we don't want to listen to your crappy, base-drum driven, repetitive, growling, floor-vibrating choice in music. Even the dog seems annoyed. She's moved from sleeping on the rug to sleeping on the chair, a few feet and several foam-insulated layers away from our floor, your ceiling, dear downstairs neighbor.
Please:
Just turn it down. Your choice in music sucks, but that wouldn't bother us if it didn't make the liquid in our glasses quiver.
Sincerely,
your normally mild-mannered upstairs neighbors, and our dog
You:
You are the kind of guy who bikes to work, and holds the door open for your neighbors. You're well-groomed and wear trendy dark clothes. You are slightly creepy looking, but you're normally smiling while you smoke your cigarettes outside the building, so that somehow makes you okay.
However:
You need to start saving up for some really nice BOSE, noise canceling headphones, maybe even some that are Bluetooth compatible. Because, dear downstairs neighbor, your taste in music is just really not ours'. We like you, we think, but we don't want to listen to your crappy, base-drum driven, repetitive, growling, floor-vibrating choice in music. Even the dog seems annoyed. She's moved from sleeping on the rug to sleeping on the chair, a few feet and several foam-insulated layers away from our floor, your ceiling, dear downstairs neighbor.
Please:
Just turn it down. Your choice in music sucks, but that wouldn't bother us if it didn't make the liquid in our glasses quiver.
Sincerely,
your normally mild-mannered upstairs neighbors, and our dog
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The happiest of days.
Our dear friends Matt and Elie have been busy with their new baby. Matt is likely drowsily celebrating his first Father's Day, likely pretty sleep deprived.
Another friend, Ruthie, has headed off to the East Coast to study up with other outstanding promising young teachers from all over the country.
Megan and Mike are preparing for their wedding and honeymoon to Costa Rica in August.
Kara and Jim are feathering their nest in anticipation of a new baby in October.
Elliot is in South Africa.
I have impressive friends. I have always known this. They seem especially impressive to me right now though, I think, with the combination of new life, being a stellar young teacher in a sea of many, absolute capability in the complexity of event planning skills, important and shining preparation for a new life, and of course, international spectacularness.
We are here in good old Saint Paul, Minnesota, having a normal summer. Mostly normal, I guess, in comparison with our peers.
I have been feeling relatively balanced in the face of two of my best friends having babies.
A few weeks ago, I helped roust a newborn from a good hard nap so that her new mom could feed her, in preparation (and preservation) of sleeping hours for the night. First, let me say, I am not good at many things. I am, however, good at waking up babies, and not in the awkward, "I'm not sure what to do with this thing" kind of way, but in a very deliberate- she might be your precious fragile joy, but I know she's not that fragile, kind of way, and I WILL wake her up, no prob. And I won't feel guilty about it either. Babies don't scare me, they just don't really interest me all that much.
I am not planning on having a baby this year, or next year, and that's okay. I have to acknowledge that I was feeling a little intimidated that I'm not ready for my own yet, but I think I'm okay with it. I have to honestly say, that I am contented to sew baby quilts, and bake cookies for care packages for a new mom, shop for baby clothes patterns and "cuddle fleece" fabric prints with dinosaurs and peace signs printed on them.
Don't get me wrong. I love babies. I love small baby things like booties and onesies. I enjoy baby's little fingers and tiny peeling toes and feet. I like how when babies cry, they cry with everything that they are, shaking to the ends of their extremities from the overwhelming emotion. I like how babies smile when they have a gas bubble. I like feeling their light weight on my thighs, while I stare at a warm and roughly equivalent tiny model of my own body. I love those things. I love babies. I love that they are not mine yet. I really do.
Someday, I will joyfully welcome the sleep deprivation and the sense of living so completely for another life. Feeding, changing, washing, dressing. The quiet content and, knowing myself well, fulfilling calm with an ebb toward nagging frustration of being in service to a life that I will help bring into the world.
For now, I am in love with my role of supporting the leading lady. Someday I'll take the spotlight, but not yet, please.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
I have officially finished my first year of teaching. Many first year teachers have horror stories to report or novels to write about their first years. I can honestly say that I didn't have enough drama to fill a novel, I'm not even sure that I have enough drama to fill a blog post... The fact that I had such a smooth year is due undoubtedly to the fact that I work with some of the most supportive people I have ever met. The staff at my school is friendly and out-going. They make non-pc jokes in the teachers' lounge and pop into my classroom before school, after school, and even during our day, to check in, say hi, and otherwise just be friendly. I have come to love my school almost as much as I have always loved my dear friends.
As as start writing the largest writing project of my life (likely), my capstone for my Masters degree, I cannot help but appreciate the "view from here." I'm not carrying any classroom baggage, I'm not worried about having a position next year, I'm not stressing out about the fact that I will be completing my "action research" in the fall while I will also be setting up a classroom and building a new community of learners. My teaching community is already solid. Thank god.
My first day of summer dawned with breakfast in bed (thank you, husband) and a to-do list longer than my dog's tail. A teacher's summer is not margarita's and barcaloungers, as my husband sometimes jokes. This summer I'm teaching an environmental science class to middle schoolers, I'm writing the first three chapters of my Masters capstone, I'm doing Responsive Classroom training, as well as ProjectWild training through the MN DNR. I hope I can get in some camping and strawberry picking as well as bread baking and friend visiting. But mostly, I already can't wait to get back to my teaching community, and I think that's rare. I'm in love with my craft.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
We are now home from our honeymoon. My alterior motive in bringing A to México, to a location that I have already visited, was that I wanted him to become a Traveler. A's family hasn't traveled much, and I have a serious itch to see the world. I think it worked because we had an awesome time with very few hitches, despite some flakiness on our parts, and on the way home on the plane, A asked, "Well, where to next?" I love my husband.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
On not becoming parents, or growing up.
We have several friends right now who are growing up. Don't worry, we've told them. It's not a secret. They are having babies. What is interesting is that they are not buying houses. I think that some historians and cultural anthropologists would find this interesting. We are 27, and none of our friends- wait - yes, not one of our buddies from college owns a house. We have other work friends who own houses, but not one of our friends who are currently gestating or supporting the gestation of a baby have a mortgage.
A and I have thus far successfully avoided parentship, though someday, we would like to be parents. I haven't felt any pressure to have babies, even though two of my best girl friends are currently baking a bun, as it were.
I had my very first taste of jealousy/pressure from a small group of people who I don't know, have never seen before, and will likely not run into them very quickly again. I was sitting at a lovely local coffee shop near a newly married couple (A asked me how I knew they were newly married- I told him "because they looked 12 and had wedding bands on"). They were talking to the wife's parents about a new home that they bought. After casually eavesdropping on the details of their new garage, the fence they would have to "get after" come summer, and the verbal instructions rattled off by "dad" about "gas vs. forced air heating" I had been bitten.
I want a house. Since A and I don't even know if we will be in Minnesota next year, this a completely fool-hardy drive. This does not bother me. I will waste half of today tooling Zillow and real estate websites. We can't afford anything. This doesn't bother me either.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Okay, so obviously, this isn't Aaron and I. It is however, how we felt this morning walking from our car to the grocery store. We have plunged back below zero. Aaron asked this morning,"Why do we live here again?" I told him I think it is because we were born here.
I think we're itchy to get out and about. See the country. Strike out together. Though, we often start sentences like: "When we move back to Minnesota..."
January is waiting. March will be waiting too. Waiting to see where we will end up, if we will be anywhere other than here. It's hard to hope for change when I'm happy with my present circumstances, but I am trying to hope for him.
P.S. Don't tell our dog Lily that we're thinking about moving, she likes her people right where they are, thank you very much.
I think we're itchy to get out and about. See the country. Strike out together. Though, we often start sentences like: "When we move back to Minnesota..."
January is waiting. March will be waiting too. Waiting to see where we will end up, if we will be anywhere other than here. It's hard to hope for change when I'm happy with my present circumstances, but I am trying to hope for him.
P.S. Don't tell our dog Lily that we're thinking about moving, she likes her people right where they are, thank you very much.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Good Friends
Our dear friends Matt and Elie have been in town this past week and we have enjoyed their company immensely. We wish they were closer to us and that we could share more time with them.
They are planning to add to their family in June with a new baby. I already have plans for baby bibs and booties and sleepers and everything else teeny and adorable.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar resources
Sequencing cards
Butterfly coloring page, color by numbers
Butterfly craft
"Lively Butterflies" mini-book
Sequencing cards
Butterfly coloring page, color by numbers
Butterfly craft
"Lively Butterflies" mini-book
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Life gets so busy.
So, for the last few months, I've been working my ass off to get a job, a good one, that will pay me and even pay for my antibiotics when I get sick (which is definitely a hazard of teaching small, germy creatures... aka elementary school kids). So I'd been working so hard at getting a job, that the reality of actually securing a job is still sinking in.
I'll be teaching first grade next year. First grade Spanish-Immersion. Sweet. I'll have twenty students (awesome class size!) and a young and supportive staff, plus a principal who seems to be genuinely terrific. I will have a quite the commute-- 31 miles roundtrip, I figure, but there's a really good chance that I can carpool with fellow teachers who also live in our awesome, St. Paul neighborhood.
I'll also be getting married in the fall. Wow. That's something that's still sinking in. I'm so psyched to be declaring my legal status as being in love with such a true friend. We're planning the party of our lives. Which we're obsessively "greening" up - even recycling and re-using invitation flub-ups as we make them. It's really a cool project to work on.
I'm headed to Chicago this weekend to see my dear friend Ruthie, my old Arts High, Delta Dorm, roommate/fellow RA. I'm ecstatic to be going to visit her, see the countryside of flooded Wisconsin and leave the Twin Cities area-- it's been a while.
So, job- check, wedding- check, leisurely travel-check.
Life is so exciting.
So, for the last few months, I've been working my ass off to get a job, a good one, that will pay me and even pay for my antibiotics when I get sick (which is definitely a hazard of teaching small, germy creatures... aka elementary school kids). So I'd been working so hard at getting a job, that the reality of actually securing a job is still sinking in.
I'll be teaching first grade next year. First grade Spanish-Immersion. Sweet. I'll have twenty students (awesome class size!) and a young and supportive staff, plus a principal who seems to be genuinely terrific. I will have a quite the commute-- 31 miles roundtrip, I figure, but there's a really good chance that I can carpool with fellow teachers who also live in our awesome, St. Paul neighborhood.
I'll also be getting married in the fall. Wow. That's something that's still sinking in. I'm so psyched to be declaring my legal status as being in love with such a true friend. We're planning the party of our lives. Which we're obsessively "greening" up - even recycling and re-using invitation flub-ups as we make them. It's really a cool project to work on.
I'm headed to Chicago this weekend to see my dear friend Ruthie, my old Arts High, Delta Dorm, roommate/fellow RA. I'm ecstatic to be going to visit her, see the countryside of flooded Wisconsin and leave the Twin Cities area-- it's been a while.
So, job- check, wedding- check, leisurely travel-check.
Life is so exciting.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
So insanely tasty!
So, I've crawled back onto the weight watchers wagon these days and I have been in search of tasty, "low point" foods. Here's my newest discovery for breakfast...
Blueberry Cream Blintzes
Crepe recipe:
2 eggs
1/2 C. soy milk
1/2 C. water
1 C. flour (if you used whole wheat, it would be fewer points!)
1/4 C. white sugar
1/4 t. salt
Mix wet ingredients together first. Whisk in the four and salt until mostly smooth.
Make small crepes (like skinny pancakes) in a pan using a spray of oil before each new crepe. I used a 1/3 C. measure to measure out the batter and made 7 crepes.
Filling recipe:
1/2 C. of part-skim ricotta
1 T. of honey
(you could add a teaspoon of vanilla too)
Mix together until smooth and the batter has a light butter color to it.
Assembly:
When crepes are finished, take about 1 T. of the ricotta mixture and smooth it down the middle of the crepe. Roll the crepe up like a burrito. Place the "burrito," seam side down on a medium skillet to toast for a minute or two. Remove from heat and plate. Top the crepes with wild blueberries (mine were frozen and I microwaved them until they were steamy and had some juice). You could make extra of the ricotta mixture and use a dollop of it on top of the crepes as well.
All this tasty goodness for just 3 points a Blintz!
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