For the past month or so I've been busily putting together wedding invitations for a new bloggy buddy, Angie. I've been working my hiney off this past week to put the finishing touches on them and get them ready to ship out tomorrow morning. I'm quite pleased with the results and hope Angie is as thrilled with them as I am. :o) 
The stamping was done using the SU! Garden Silhouettes and silver ink. I then embossed using silver embossing powder. I gromitted the top and used a lovely silver ribbon as finishing touches. 
Brien, as always, was my lovely assistant and helped to print the vellum and then cut it. 
These are the reply cards. Continuing with the theme of the invites, I used the same stamp set, ink and embossing powder. I think these invitations look elegant and understated and I'm so pleased I had the opportunity to make these for Angie. :o) ******************************************Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and prayers--they have been working! Grammy awoke this morning and was much more alert. Hooray! I'm not deluding myself, Grammy is old, ill, and I'm sure, just plain tired. I know Grammy's days with us here are limited, yet I'm overjoyed she is showing improvement and I know Grandfather is relieved. ******************************************I'm coming down to the end, folks! I not only gave my last graded assignment today (four different tests), I graded them and have imputed them into the computer. Woo Hoo!!! Go me!! I've got a couple more grades to put in, and I'm finished. FINISHED!!! We will be having our end of the year party tomorrow afternoon and I confess, I'm sad. It has been such a yo-you of a year, and yet, I've enjoyed it so very much. I needed these kids and this school this year. This class will always hold a special place in my heart as not only the first class I had at my new school, but as the sweet class I had the year I lost the Monkey. I'm so grateful I had the privilege of having such a sweet bunch when faced with the potential of a horrible year. ********************************************We played a fun geography review game today. A couple of years ago, I purchased some funky fly swatters, one a frog, the other a bumble bee. I divide the class into two teams and lay down the ground rules: No calling out, if you swat the map hard you earn the other team ten points, if you talk you earn a point for the other team, if your swatter hits the map at the incorrect location your turn is over, if you hit the correct location first you win a point for your team.This game is LOADS of fun, and the children have been intrigued with my fly swatters ALL year, constantly asking what they were for. I always gave vague answers waiting for the right moment to play the game. The moment arrived today and I thought the kiddos were going to faint with the joy of it. ;o) I begin with easy locations such as the continents and other simple map elements and then move to the more complicated. They kids LOVE the game and we played many many rounds, all the while improving their geography skills. Panama was one of the locations I had them find. Whenever I hear "Panama" I always think, "A man a plan a canal Panama", a very fun palindrome. This in turn had me thinking of the Monk. She LOVED the fact her name was a palindrome. When she was first learning her name, when she was two she would chant in a sing-song voice, "H-A-N N-A-H" over and over again. When she was almost four, we told her her name was a palindrome. Well, it was ON after that. :o) Lissie found a fun palindromic book for her and we searched high and low for more and more of them. :o) So, there I was in class, thinking of the Monkey. To distract myself, I decided to play another quick game--Name as many palindromes as you can--utterly forgetting "Hannah Montana" is a VERY popular children's show. So, of course, the kids immediately said, "Hannah!" Oh how I miss the Monkey...****************************************Today's Sparklies:1. All papers are graded and all I need to do now is put the grades in the computer.2. Angie's invites are gorgeous and on their way to her as of tomorrow. :o)3. The geography game and the palindrome lesson.4. The weather was nice and sunny again today. Ahhhhh. 5. Miss Ellen from across the street came bearing six bags of romance novels. SCORE!! There are a TON of category romances in there, and I confess, I LOVE 'em. ;o) I really do. They are so cheesily perfect, how could you not? The one I'm reading right now is, "Falling For King's Fortune" and you immediately know exactly what the story is about, lol! 6. My second package arrived from Jessie. :o) There was an entire set of Soft Subtles Stampin' Pads in there!!! I'm going to check and see if they are still "juicy" and if not I'll purchase the re-inkers. Talk about saving money. They were sold, as a set, for $1 at a yard sale, if you can believe it!Milestones:Reliving Hannah and her love of all things palindrome. I've decided if we have another little girl a few years down the road, her name will be Ava or Eve. I have to have another palindrome. :oP *************************************I was up until after midnight last night so I'm ready to hit the hay now. Lily will get to sleep in since she'll be home with B tomorrow. This in turn means I get to sleep in a little as well. Hee hee!
First off, for the life of me I cannot remember if I have posted this photo before. This is to be the new St. Mary's Catholic Church in Blacksburg. I was reminded of this because Jessie called today to tell me she went visiting her local Catholic church and is contemplating RCIA classes for the fall. This made me think of all my childhood friends and their CCD classes and therefore St. Mary's. B and his family attended St. Mary's for years and I have attended a number of services with them. The "old old" St. Mary's was located downtown on Church Street and the congregation grew so large they moved to a newer location. That church, well, it rather resembled a warehouse. This one seems quite beautiful by comparsion. I also have to say I've become somewhat intrigued by Catholicism, having taught in a Catholic school for a year. Jessie wants me to do RCIA with her so we can essentially take classes together. Goodness knows B wouldn't have to do it...Meanwhile, I've been doing quite a bit of thinking over the past few days. There are days when life seems "normal" (whatever that means) and those which I miss Hannah with every fiber of my being. I've been looking at the Kindergartners, noticing those who are as tall as Hannah was, and those who are still such peanuts, much like Lily. The closer I get to the end of the year, the more anxious I become. The routine of my life will be changing once again and what was once familiar will be gone. I was reading Sheye's blog today and she was talking of a new happiness. That's it. A new happiness. There were those days before losing Hannah that were precious and golden and perfect. I, of course, was unaware of the perfection of those days, of those moments. There was a happiness I will never again know.Am I happy now? Yes, I am. However, it will always tinged with some sorrow, for those moment of perfect happiness are long gone. I will always remember that which I am missing. The flip side is that I no longer take such happiness for granted. I know I'm blessed to still feel happiness and delight with those things I find around me. I also celebrate that happiness more because I know how far I've come. As Sheye wrote, I also have greater compassion for those around me and don't judge the grumpies I run into in my life. Until I have walked a mile in their shoes, I have no right to make judgments on their state of mind. *******************************************If you could please take a moment and say a quick prayer for a family I know, I would really appreciate it. A mommy I'm acquainted with has a very ill little girl. This mommy experienced a mid-term loss with her first pregnancy so this is an especially difficult time for her and her family as they struggle to figure out what is making their sweet angel so ill.
Also, my grammy is quite quite ill. A quick prayer for her would be much appreciated as well.
Thank you.*****************************************Today's Sparklies:1.
Miss Bit. What a trip! The child continues to enchant me and exasperate me, typically in the same breath. ;o) 2.
See that DVD there on the Mars Lander? Hannah's on Mars! Okay, Han and a bunch of other folks, but the lander has arrived and Hannah is there! 3. 
This LOL Cat slays me!! :oD4. I have one more test to grade (given tomorrow) and then all grading is FINISHED for the year!!!!! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!5. Lily is NOT screaming tonight as she fights sleep. Nope. Instead, she's just in and out of her room. ;oP6. "How It's Made" continues to fascinate me. How in the world do people come up with the ideas that make all those robotic machines work? Who has a brain that works like that? It's all so very VERY cool!7. Mmm. Spaghetti and homemade meat sauce for dinner, paired with a wonderful salad. Ahhh. I'm STUFFED!***********************************************Okay, so I spoke too soon on the Lil front. I'm off to comfort my little Bit.
My mind has been lost all day. Somehow I keep thinking it's Monday even though I know it's not. I've been busy today, grading papers and inputting grades, all those things that herald the end of the school year. (A very quick aside prompted by the Dodgers/Cubs game: I want to be Erin Andrews when I grow up. She's the woman that is the sideline reporter on ESPN and I'm thoroughly jealous of her. What a job!!) Sure, there are still things I have to do, like, I don't know, tear down my entire room and put everything away, but hey, that's manageable. ;o)I've got one test left to give and then I'm done. DONE! Yes!! Meanwhile, Lily is upstairs screaming (fake, of course), because she doesn't want to go to bed. Up to this point, she's been quite the cutie today, charming everyone she came into contact with. "Wissa" loved on her at Shari's. Meredith's mom wanted to bring clothes to play dress-up-Lily. The ladies in the stamping store greeted me with, "Oh, it's LILY!" The child is well adored, it seems. ;o) (Okay, this screaming has GOT to go. I HATE it when she does this...)Lily, much like her sister, has a fantastic imagination. While Hannah had imaginary friends, Lily becomes things. In recent days she has been a puppy and a kitty. When she's a puppy, she barks, whines, scratches at you, licks you (that is particularly lovely, I assure you), pants and in every way she can mimics a dog--not excluding fetching Holly's toys. YICK! Today, walking out of PetSmart, Lily gave me her hand and told me it was her "leash". I held her leash all the way to the car as she barked and yipped her way there. If we don't keep a close eye on her, she'll even begin to eat like a dog! What a kid!(All right, I've got to go check on her. This is TOO much...)I'm back. It seems that although the night terrors seem to have faded, the desire to elude sleep has not. She is doing everything she can to avoid going to sleep. :sigh:***********************************Today's Sparklies:1. A potential dinner/drinks date with a friend some time next week.2. A clothing package arrived from Jessie today. Lily saw the box and declared, "My CLOTHES!!" How did she know that??3. Brien begins classes Sunday. Wow! He really is going to finish that degree! :o)4. Mom and Paul are on their way back to the green city. I've enjoyed their sojourn, but am glad they'll be close by. 5. The stamping store. It really is too much fun! 6. The "kitty store". Also a good time. :o) 7. Seven days of school left. 8. I'm once again all caught up on school work.9. B's raise is finally in his paychecks. 10. Knowing I still have people dropping in to check on me once-in-a-while. ***********************************I'm off to work on some cards. Yay! I LOVE that! :o)
The title really says it all. It's been sluggy. There are things that should have been done that weren't. Instead I did things I wanted to do. :o) I read "The Windflower" and played with Lily and Brien. I enjoyed my family. What is more important than that? The dust and grime aren't going anywhere, but time is passing and Lily is changing and well, she's far more interesting than dust. ;o) I hope you all had a nice day off.Thank you to all our service members. I remember. Thank you.
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If you haven't yet tried the wild cherry M&M's, you really should! :o)
Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted anything since last Wednesday! Sorry about that! I've been rather busy the past few days. Thursday evening Lil and I had dinner with Nana (Pop was out of town as well) and didn't get home until late. Friday Lily and I dined with Nana and Pop, went to Kiwanis Park and then met Daddy at Bruster's for "hice cream!". Saturday was FM in the morning and Troy, Kat and Greyson drove up from Richmond to join us and visit for the day. Then, we met Beth at a local golf course for a photo shoot. B and I hit the hay by 10:00 and I'll be darned if Lily didn't let us sleep in until 8:15 this morning!! It was WONDERFUL!!!!! I got the best sleep and rest I have had in longer than I can remember! Of course, when Lil came in this morning with her chiruppy "I waked up!" I noticed she had on only a t-shirt. So, being the smart, observant, wide-awake Mommy I am I said, "Um, Lil, you only have on a t-shirt" to which she responded, "Yup!". Waking up a little more I asked, "So, uh, Lil, where are your pants and diaper?" "On dee floor.""On the floor?" You can tell I'm very alert first thing in the morning."Yup. I had pee pee in my bed. I cweaned it up wif wipes.""Um, what do you mean 'pee pee in your bed'?" "I made pee pee in my bed but I cweaned it up wif wipes.""Right. Okay, um, Lil, did you sleep without your diaper and pants on last night?""Yup.""Really??" Insert note of panic here..."Yup.""Greeeeaaaaaaaat." :sigh:You see, the thing is, I always check on Lily before I go to bed. Always. Some nights I even open the Monkey's door just to smell her and I always say goodnight to her as I walk down the hall to our room. Always. So, I had checked on Lil and she was under the covers, tucked in and I erroneously assumed she was wearing her pj's and diaper. Silly me. You better believe I won't be making that mistake again...After such an inauspicious start to the day, I made some Barb's Baked Beans (a family fave!) and headed on over to Nana and Pop's for the day. Grandma and Bill are in town through tomorrow, Jen and her brood came to visit, as did Glen and Terri. We had such a lovely visit with everyone. Lydie, Joss and Lil played and played and played. They were dogs, kitties, pirates, princesses. They played bocce, football, soccer and tea party. They walked the dogs, had a parade, played musical instruments and then the harmonica. Oh, the fun they got into. Kelsey, ever the sweetheart, was a wonderful mother hen, keeping an eye on the pipsqueaks. I don't know many sixth graders who would be so willing to pitch in. Meanwhile, I had such a lovely visit with the adults, talking and laughing and just enjoying myself. :o) The food was wonderful as well. Boy can Jen make a berry cobbler. The strussel topping was divine. Lily had no nap this afternoon and was unconscious before we reached Jamestown Road. She was so pooped, in fact, that she didn't awaken when I changed her diaper and put her in her pj's. She was one knackered little puss.Which brings us to now. Whew. :o) B and I are going to enjoy each other's company this evening. :o) Now, some pictures from the past few days:Lily at Kiwanis Park. 
This child is so strong. She swung back and forth whilst holding onto the bar. I couldn't believe my eyes!
She is also quite the little climber monkey. 
These are some of the lilies from Hannah's garden. I was taking pictures and Lily demanded, "Now dee orange ones!" Alrighty then. ;o)
Bagels and Fraylox played at the FM Saturday. Lily was a little out of sorts Saturday morning so she didn't enjoy them as much as she usually does. The FM was PACKED this weekend!! The weather has been beyond gorgeous and it is also a big tourist weekend. 
The fabulous Swiss chard and green leaf lettuce I purchased from Blenheim.
I hadn't had a chance to speak with Becky yet this year and she came over and said hi. She then said she had been thinking about me the other day. I said, "Really?" To which she replied she had been cutting chard to bring to market and she had some beautiful maroon and orange chard which reminded her of VT which in turn reminded her of me. :o) Should I be flattered or frightened the vendors know me so well? ;o) 
At Amy's Organics, I picked up a bunch of beautiful "snack" dragons. The peachy/pink color with yellow throats really appealed to me. 
Typically if we arrive around 9:00, there is still plenty to be had at the FM. This weekend, due to the crowds, there really wasn't much left--everything was fairly picked over. I was however able to get some scallops from Bill Forrest, which is amazing. :o) ************************************Sparklies:1. The weather. Oh. My. Goodness has the weather been beautiful.2. Visiting with the Hunters.3. Visiting with the ENTIRE family. :o)4. Listening to the little girls play today. They are so sweet!5. 10 hours' sleep!!!6. Lily is such a stinkin' cutie pie! Today she was playing the harmonica (and not that awful in/out/in/out of only one note) for Grandma, Bill, Nana, Pop, Glen, Terri, Brien and me and when she finished a "piece" she stopped to bow while we applauded. Now, bowing is fairly common for Lil. The "Thank you, thank you" that came afterward was not. It was all I could do not to laugh right there! :o) 7. Bruster's. I just LOVE me some good ice cream!8. Brien is HOME!9. Photos with Beth. I'm DYING to see how they came out! :o) 10. Boy, I'm full of excitement and exclamations tonight. ;oPMilestones:Last year at this time, we were all together in West Virginia for a birthday celebration. It is so hard to remember that and know we won't all be together again for quite a while. It is also hard to be with Jen and her crew, seeing Miles and constantly being reminded of the Monk. Oh, would he and Han be having fun together now. :sigh:***************************************I wish you all a wonderful day off/Memorial Day tomorrow. :o) I've got plans to be with my family. :o)
I had such a wonderful time visiting my old "home" this afternoon. :o) I left work at 12:15 and was on the road by 1:00, anxious to get to Marshall early enough to visit with my old family. It was WONDERFUL! I was squealing with delight to see so many familiar faces and gave so many hugs I'm sure we all have bruised ribs. ;o) I miss my family there quite a bit, although I don't miss the stresses associated with public ed right now. So many of my friends seemed stressed and burned out, and I'm not feeling it. I know so much of that is due to the private school environment and the fact we aren't feeling the pressure so many public schools are. I also don't miss the commute. I didn't remember just how l-o-n-g it is. When you do it every day, you don't notice it. However, having not done it for close to a year, I realized just how long it took to get there and to get home. I left before the celebration was over (sorry guys, I had to in order to get Lil) around 4:05. I didn't get to Shari's until after 5:00. That afternoon commute is crazy and I sure as heck don't miss it. And, I don't miss the gas prices. I said I took a pay cut to move to my new job, but with the savings in gas, I think I broke even. Really. It took $60 to fill the van today. I was filling up almost twice a week last year. Now, I fill up once every week or so, sometimes going every ten days. Talk about savings! I would be spending almost $4400 on gas this year if I were still driving downtown. Wow!! ************************************Lily and I both miss Daddy something fierce. Shari said Lil needed her "hassy" and bear for much of the day she was so out of sorts. I'm pretty out of sorts myself. You see, even though I may gripe and complain, B truly is a one-in-a-million kind of guy. He can sit in a room full of women and not be overloaded on estrogen. He will help with Lily without a second thought, taking her upstairs to get ready for bed while I sit and type a blog post (this happens more nights than I care to admit). He cooks, he cleans, he is sensitive and caring. He is truly one amazing guy and I'm so very blessed he is in my life. Can I live without him? Sure. Do I want to? Absolutely NOT! I figure any man who can put up with me for almost 15 years (WOW!), almost 9 of them married (HOLY COW!! Where did those years go???? We're closing in on ten years!!) is a guy worth holding on to. ;o) Oh, and did I mention he's pretty darn cute too? :oPI cannot begin to tell you how much I am anticipating his return. Friday evening can't come soon enough. Sure, part of it is due in part to the fact my life runs more smoothly when he's here. A larger part is that I just miss him. I miss having someone to share LOL cats with. I miss getting hit in the nose with an elbow while I'm sleeping. I miss lying my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as I slowly drift to sleep. I miss having conversations about the things we hear on NPR. Dinner for one and a quarter (I don't think Lil even counts as half with the small amount she eats at supper time) and sure different from dinner for two and a quarter. Yup, it's time for B to come home. ****************************************Today's Sparklies:1. The retirement luncheon and seeing all my old family. Ahhhh. :o)2. I also got to be with Sarah and Bridget--the three musketeers together again. :o)3. This fabulous article from NPR. See, I told you it was good for me to go barefoot!! 4. Ardis was in to sub for me today. I'm SO looking forward to having her in the building full-time next year! (Although, I'm going to miss having her to sub for me...)5. The snail shell I found lying in the middle of the driveway.6. Lil the rough tough cream puff. The child had her thumb shut in the sliding door and cried for all of one minute. Seriously. I'd still be howling, but not the Bit. What a tough little Bit she is. Wow!7. The clematis continue to bloom, as do the lilies in Hannah's garden. :o)8. Kristi Ann's Hannah frog is back. Woo hoo!9. Sleep. Ahhhh. I got eight hours last night and it was goooooooood. ;o)Milestones: I made my first trip back to Marshall since Hannah died. It was odd somehow. No one wanted to come right out and talk about the Monkey but everyone was so worried about me, wondering how I was doing. Today, the yo is up an all is well. It's interesting how the milestones become fewer and further between the closer I come to the one year anniversary. I confess, I'm not particularly looking forward to the summer--all that time home with just me and Little Bit. I'm a bit worried as to how I'll do. Of course, as I have learned, I don't need to look that far ahead. I'll take it one day at a time, as I have done for the past ten months(!) and I'll make it, just like I have been. *********************************I have 11 days left until the end of the year and I'm feeling pretty good. I know there is quite a bit left to do and yet, I'm not panicking, nor am I stressing. I am however, very sad that I'm losing my babies, that they'll be big middle schoolers next year. I just hope they remember me fondly and stop in to say "hi" once in a while. :o)
I fell asleep around 9 last night which was, in fact, rather amazing. I mentioned before I don't sleep well when Brien's gone and it seems silly on an intellectual level. However, on a gut level, I just fret and worry. Therefore, the fact I was asleep by 9:00 was miraculous. Then, the phone rang... 10:30 and I was wide awake once again, only this time, my batteries were a little recharged from that catnap I had had. Soooooo, hello 2 am! I was awake until 2 (that was the last time I checked the clock anyway...) and then up at 6. I have NO idea how I managed to do that as a teenager and in college. What, was I crazy???All this really means is I'm posting early tonight in the hopes of going to bed at a fairly reasonable hour and then crashing. :fingers crossed:Lil and I came home at a more reasonable hour today and she grabbed her xylophone and began to play and sing. She then helped me cook dinner. Dinner for one and a nubbin isn't the same as dinner for three and a nubbin. There is no way to cook small enough portions, so you just do your best. Lily and I made:A very yummy ribeye that I found on sale at Ukrop's yesterday. Used meat is AWESOME! (BTW, "used meat" is our word for meat on clearance.)
A delightful salad of fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, seasoned with kalamata olives, sea salt and basalmic vinegar.
And, homemade guacamole. Hee hee. I can't seem to get enough of this stuff lately. And, with the price of avocados so low right now, it is actually a fairly nutritious snack. Sure, it has fat, but it's the good kind. ;o) 
Meanwhile, we are down to 12 days and counting until the end of the year. Tomorrow I will head to Marshall to visit and pay tribute to my dear friend, Lana, who will be retiring at the end of the year. I can't believe she's actually going to do it! I'm pretty excited as I haven't seen everyone in quite a while and I sure do miss them. *******************************************Today's Sparklies:1. I keep getting compliments on Lily looking like me. Yay! You see, while I had some family and friends who insisted Hannah looked like me, I KNOW she looked just like her Daddy. I felt as if I had nothing to do with Hannah's presence other than having given birth to her (okay, that and her personality was really so much me). It's nice to have a child who looks like you. Sure, it's vanity pure and simple, but there it is. ;o)2. Although I enjoy getting out in the yard to mow, I'm relieved it's actually wet and stormy tonight as I'm too tired to actually get out and do yard work.3. Angie's invites are coming along beautifully! Woo hoo!4. Dinner was excellent, even if I now do stink to high heaven like garlic.5. The cool weather is wonderful. I sleep with the windows open and awaken to a bird chorus daily. :o) It's time for Lily to be in bed (past time, actually) so I'm going to corral her and wrangle her into her jim jams. Good night! :o)
While I missed my Marshall buddies and the HUGE to do at Todd Stadium, there was something more intimate about Relay at Jamestown High School. First off, I could WALK there, which was a HUGE bonus. Second, it was nice to do something different this year since Relay was something Hannah had done with me since she was tiny and I wasn't sure how I could face it without her.Friday afternoon I walked to our site to drop off some of Lola's goodies. When I arrived, we had nothing set up...so I stayed to help set up! I called B and had him come to help and he brought the MiniMonk with him. She was such a good girl, smiling and chatting with everyone. Smart Bit that she is, she found the yummy foods that had been brought and just helped herself. She began with two cupcakes(!) and moved on to the chips.
As you can see, she had to reach fairly far into the bag--see, the tongue is out to aid the stretching and reaching. 
Yum! :o)
We had a double site and were able to set up three tents. The weather during the day had been spotty stormy and was hot and humid. By the time 6:00 rolled around, the clouds had blown through and there were very gusty winds. In fact, I was a little worried our tents might blow over!By 7:00, many of our team had arrived and we all stood solemnly and respectfully as the survivors took their walk around the track. As always, I found myself sobbing. Cancer is an indiscriminate disease, attacking young, old, black, white, rich, poor. 
You knew you were at the Williamsburg Relay For Life when the fife and drum corps led the survivors' walk. 
My friend, Will, is the fifer on the right. He teaches computer courses and is a wonderful person. He has a daughter a couple of months younger than Lil, and we frequently run into him and his family at the FM. The fifer on the left is the spouse of one of our teachers. Williamsburg is such a small community and seems fairly close-knit. As the survivors rounded the bend, I could see a child, maybe no more than four, with a survivor's sash. Then, there was the little girl, maybe eight years old, her bald head shining under the lights, sparkly pink earrings catching the sun's rays. There were the older couples, some with walkers, some holding hands, walking with matching survivor's sashes. It always makes me weep. These are some of the bravest people I know.I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The loss of a child is especially devastating because you lose the future when they die. What did the future hold for the Monkey? The little girls in the survivors' lap are blessed, they have a future. This is why Relay is so especially crucial--we need to find a cure so all children are afforded the same opportunity as those two little girls, namely, a future. 
The end of the survivors' lap signaled the start of my first hour of walking. As I rounded a curve, I saw the beautiful wateriness of the sky and tried to capture it's loveliness. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk and when I was finished, I met up with Will and his little family, and a number of other friends and colleagues as well. I had SUCH fun visiting and getting to know people outside the work environment. Lily ran around playing with other kiddos close to her age. B had brought her over in her wagon, which was very enticing to most of the small children there. ;o) 
We loaded the kiddos into the wagon, and the young lady in the middle was quite disgruntled--Lil and the other gentleman had their shoes off and she wanted hers off! Oh, I SO love small children! :o) 
Lily really did have a wonderful time. She and I had our picture taken with the Geico gecko (you can see Lil holding the photo) and she delighted in showing it to anyone who happened to glance her direction. B and I finally took her home around 8:30 and put her to bed. I returned shortly thereafter and stayed until almost 12:30! The temperature had really dropped by then and it felt WONDERFUL! Everyone was freezing and looking at me as if I had lost my mind, hee hee. I loaned out my sweatshirt and walked the next hour with Margaret, chatting about work and life. It is so nice to find someone outside my family who understands the need to get to the mountains. She said her husband will actually say to her, "you're getting grumpy again, it's time to hit the mountains." She described the sense of peace and contentment that begins to steal over her as she finally reaches the mountains in Charlottesville. It could have been me talking instead. The hour flew by and before I knew it, it was time for me to head for home. I KNEW Lil was going to be up early in spite of her late bedtime and I wanted to catch a few z's before I had to get up with her. *****************************************The evaluation went off without too much of a hitch. The process was actually quite familiar to me, having been through it during my previous employment. Typically, there are four categories on which you are scored. The ratings are unsatisfactory, basic, proficient, and distinguished. It is a process by which you self-evaluate using the rubrics provided and the administrator evaluates you as well. It is wonderful to self-reflect and it opens up lines of communication about your teaching and really makes you think about what you do and HOW you do it. In years passed, I've received all proficients with a nice smattering of distinguisheds thrown in. Today, I was mostly proficients with two basic-pluses thrown in. I knew it was going to happen, yet it didn't make it any easier. Moving to a new school, a new grade, a new student base, a new curriculum, there was no way that wouldn't happen. However, it is very hard to go from the top back to the middle (at least it wasn't the bottom!). I remember looking at Margaret with anguished eyes explaining that I understood and that I knew I had done an admirable job this year, yet, I still felt let down. Silly, I know. Yet, there it is. My goal is to have a number of distinguisheds again next year!Margaret was very encouraging and positive. She is also very good with the constructive criticism and I didn't feel as if I had been run through a wringer. Overall, I'm pleased and it is comforting to know in which direction I need to move so that I may continue to improve. ***************************************B's having a gay olde time in Omaha and I'm feeling supremely jealous! Especially after hearing about the Omaha Zoo from both Joe and Jessie. :sigh:Today's Sparklies:1. Lily is the best grocery shopping buddy. :o) We stopped to get some deli meats today--rare roast beef and Alpine Lace swiss for me, smoked turkey and provolone cheese for Lil--and she charmed the deli lady (who was NOT in a smiley sort of mood) into giving her a slice of the turkey! 2. "Enchanted" is just WONDERFUL! You MUST watch this movie! (Okay, not you, Mom and Paul, but all the rest of you who don't harbor ill wishes for Disney and their movies!)3. One day down, one day closer to Friday and Brien being home!4. Lil was a dream girlie not only in Ukrop's, but also at the "kitty store" (PetSmart for those inquiring minds out there). We had to get crickets for the anoles. Lily walked the ENTIRE time(!) and visited the "fishies" and "kitties" and "wizards" and "birdies" and "pigg-a-pigs!" It was so fun to watch her and witness her enthusiasm for all things animal. :o)5. Leftover pizza can make a mighty fine dinner.6. The weather is once again incredible! The temp today was low-mid seventies with a most charming light breeze. Ahhhh.7. This charming little scamp:
B found him at Relay and had to snap his photo! :o)******************************************The dishwasher fully loaded with clean dishes and the laundry are calling to me. As is sleep, actually...Lil decided she needed to "I wake up, Mommy!" at 5:45 this morning and I hadn't fallen asleep before midnight. So, I'll empty the dishwasher, fold the laundry and hit the hay. I LOVE Mike Rowe, but "Dirty Jobs" may have to be put on the back burner this evening...
Brien is in the air, on his way to Omaha. Lily is sleeping and I'm sitting here listening to Jack Johnson, trying to figure out how I feel. I'm unsettled, as always, having Brien out of town. I have never made any secret of the fact that I don't like it when Brien is gone, even before Hannah died. Now, when Lil's sleeping, it's just me and my thoughts and they're tough. My mind circles around and around, chasing itself in many directions. I'm sad and maudlin because Hannah's gone. I miss Brien. I should be cleaning and yet I can't make myself move. We have a thunderstorm watch upon us and I hope Lily stays asleep. I'm delighted to have some "me" time which means I can do whatever I like without worrying about anyone else. Time flies so quickly Brien will be home before I know it. Time drags on. How could so much time have passed since Hannah died? How could that time move so quickly? How could it almost be the end of the school year? Dear lord, I have SO many things I need to finish before the end of the year in three weeks. Only three weeks of school left?? How is it possible I survived this year? So many thoughts. I can't concentrate on any one thing. They keep swirling and chasing and I'm too tired to deal with them. I was up LATE Friday night at Relay and then last night, although I went to bed at a reasonable hour, I had such strange dreams I didn't sleep well at all. I never sleep well when Brien is gone (imaging the worst, you know) so I know I'm in for a tiring week. I hope Lil recovers her usual chipper spirit before tomorrow morning. I've got my final evaluation tomorrow at 12:30 and I'm a wreck about that. It thought the nerves I had before contract signing were tough, this is far worse. I hate this anxiety and wish there were some way I could not care. Ha! How could I not care about this when I love this job so very much? When you throw your heart into what you do, evaluations are terrifying. What if your best just isn't good enough? Lily should be asleep for another hour at least (she is such a good little power napper) and I'm hoping to get some reading in. That will hopefully distract me. I'm hoping to post some Relay pictures tomorrow. I'm just too lethargic and out of sorts to do it now. I do however want to call your attention to this wonderful, amazing story. It has gone a long way to restoring my faith in humanity. These girls are incredible people and I know the world is in good hands with them as our future. Warning: I did cry my eyes out while viewing the story so you may want to have tissues handy if you're a weepy one like me. ***********************************Sparklies:1. Relay was wonderful.2. The weather yesterday was incredibly beautiful. Lily spent the majority of the day playing outside, me by her side. The sun is so healing somehow.3. Mom's journey through New England continues with firetrucks outside restaurants, beautiful architecture and more. Check it out! :o)4. I had a wonderful evening out with Brien last night. A dear friend and her two children volunteered to watch Lily for a couple hours and B and I had a fantastic meal and then some quick shopping for needed clothing. Lil is definitely NOT the shopper her big sister was.5. Lily and Shennen were talking about their sisters, Hannah. Both of them have big sisters named Hannah and they were comparing notes. Shari said it was all she could do not to cry listening to the conversation and hearing Lily say Hannah is her big sister and she loves her. That Hannah loves her too but is in heaven now. 6. Lily is the funniest little kid! (Okay, Ella's pretty darn funny too...) Today she went outside for a moment, came back and said, "I taking a bath now." Ooookay. Soon I was greeted with, "I'm back, Mommy. I'm cold now." told to me with much earnestness. Of course, she was dry as a bone (for once...) but her little imagination sure was at work.7. Lil is also becoming quite the smarty pants. We read "Fancy Fancy"'s ABC book every evening now (at her request, trust me...) and she has begun to identify a number of letters. It boggles my mind how kids pick up these things. Isn't watching their little brains work amazing?8. "In Between Dreams" is a wonderful album--nice and mellow and fitting my mood beautifully right now. 9. Beth has a new website and it is gorgeous. I'm hoping she'll be doing photos for us some time next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed. 10. This made me laugh in spite of myself:
It SO reminded me of Puss from "Shrek 2" and Hannah's love of the kitty face. ********************************Geeze I miss Hannah. Today, the pain is throbbing and almost unbearable. I know it is due in part to Brien being gone and me being alone. I also know I'll get through it. I always do. So, I'll embrace the hurt and wallow and be fresh and new on an up yo tomorrow.
Lily and I were running around the backyard today and she stopped to look at some clover. I know most people find clover to be weeds, but I love it. The leaves are chipper and the flowers' fragrance is so sweet. Lil seems to enjoy the flowers as well, and had stopped to pick one. As she bent down, she and I simultaneously discovered this little guy. Hooray! Our froggies are back! I confess, I was a bit worried for him as Brien was working on the lawn and I knew the weedwhacker was on its way. 
I used my finger to nudge him along and he hopped onto this beam, holding on to the blade of grass. SO CUTE!
Still not convinced he was safe, I prodded him along some more. 
And yet some more. He was safe from B and I knew Han had come to visit again. :o)**********************************I always love teaching, and I always love my job, but there are days when I just LOVE teaching. Today was one of those days. We are working on an oyster project in cooperation with VIMS. Each of the fifth grade classes has had an opportunity to visit the site and observe the oysters (from baby to medium-sized adult) and the conditions under which they are growing. We wore clothing that we wouldn't mind getting grubby and hauled the oysters (in a mesh bag in a float) out of the water. From there, we cleaned the bag and the float, sorted the oysters into live and dead piles (dead oysters are open), measured them, put them back in the bag, back in the float and back in the river. The muck on the bag and float got all over us. The children had an opportunity to balance on a floating dock, measure the water's salinity, turbidity, and temperature, and be out in the glorious sunshine on a beautiful day. It was perfect. Our hostess had pink lemonade and popsicles for us once we had finished. Being the mom I am, I had three varieties of hand sanitizer in my purse and coated all the children before I let hem eat. ;o) Meanwhile, I got to drive a baby bus today. Yup. I did it! :o) I confess, I was a bit anxious at first, as the baby bus is slightly larger than my big blue mom-mobile. However, it was quite easy to drive and I quite enjoyed it. :o) At this point, I believe I may be a bit sunburned (I knew should have worn my hat!) and I'm certainly pooped, but I did so enjoy myself, and I'm fairly certain the kiddos did as well. ******************************************Today's Sparklies:1. 
Isn't she sweet?2. My froggy friend. :o)3. Driving the baby bus.4. Being out in the open air today. Fresh air and sunshine do wonders for one's mindset. 5. Listening to the kiddos talk and play as I was driving down the road. They really are such sweet kids. :o) No milestones. Tomorrow, however, is the Williamsburg Area's Relay for Life. Many of you may remember how much Han loved "Relay" as she called it. I'm glad my first Relay after Hannah's death is not our Relay in "Important News", but a new one here in W'burg that I've never done before. Han so thoroughly enjoyed her Relay experience. She embraced the joy of the survivor's walk, loved to people watch, and flat-out enjoyed the crowds and all she saw. I can see her bouncing and jumping around (Hannah truly never walked anywhere) as she flitted from here to there last year. I can hear her laugh and see her eyes sparkle with joy. I'm really going to miss my walking buddy this year. Where Hannah embraced crowds, Lil really eschews them. A few close friends/family members and the Bit is fine. More than that and Lil begins to become very uncomfortable--she's definitely my introvert to the Monkey's extrovert. I'm determined to enjoy myself tomorrow evening. I'm hoping Lily and B can join me for a while and I KNOW I'm going to have fun with my co-workers. ************************************On a final note, please say a quick prayer for one of Brien's coworkers and his mother. This young man was called home very unexpectedly because his mother has fallen quite ill. They aren't sure what is wrong with her, but apparently things aren't looking so good. As always, thank you all so much for your friendship and words of support, kindness and wisdom. Thank you. :o)
