And We're Off, Part 1

Today, Craig, Precious Cargo, and I are leaving for the UK to attend T and S's wedding on Saturday!

We will be gone for a week and a half, so another update when we return!

TA DA!!!!!!

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO TELL YOU PEOPLE????? SEVEN WEEKS. That's right, seven whole weeks. ME--the one who can't keep her own secrets to save her life (other people's secrets, yes. But I don't have one thing that at least one other person does not know about.)

Okay, to be fair, I haven't really kept this a secret either. Some people have known about it for a couple of weeks now, but mostly because Craig told them. It's so funny--he has been so excited about this baby. So have I, but I've been mostly freaked out about what could go wrong than anything else.

But, yesterday, we went to our first ultrasound appointment--the one I have been anxiously awaiting! AND IT WENT PERFECTLY!!! Seriously, we couldn't have asked for a better appointment. The OB had to move the ultrasound thingy around a little bit because, at first, she couldn't see anything. Of course, that freaked me out because I did go in half expecting/half prepared for bad news. But, then she moved it to the right position and there was Baby!!!

Baby measured right on time--10 weeks, 2 days. We were able to see and hear the heartbeat (Craig was really impressed by that and said that was the highlight of the whole appointment). The heartbeat was 160. If the picture is too small, click on it and it will get bigger. The head is to the left, arms/hands are in the middle, body to the right. You can't see the feet. It was really cool--Baby was moving!!

Now, however, we are faced with the fact that we are going to be mommy and daddy. Alternately the thought is exciting and terrifying. Really?? A baby? Am I ready to give up sleeping in (or sleeping at all for that matter)? Selfishly collapsing on the couch at the slightest hint of a cold? Being able to pick and leave (to go to the movies, the mall, the grocery store, New York) without a second thought? Not to mention that another human being will be totally, completely, utterly dependent on us and it will be our responsibility not to f*^* it up too much.

Then I think about all the other mothers I see out there and how much love there is between parent and child and I have to say, I think it just might be worth it.

OTHER UPDATES: we are leaving for the UK this week to attend T and S's wedding. It will be good to go over--I haven't been since 2007. Plus, Craig's grandmother had a very successful triple bypass and is now at home healing well, so we are looking forward to seeing her. She is very, very excited about her newest great-grandchild and has asked no less than five times a conversation if we are bringing her a picture of the ultrasound.

After we return from UK, we are off to Cincinnati. The house is still on the market; we have had a few viewings, but no offers yet.

My parents were in town over the weekend and stayed until this morning (they wanted to see the results of the ultrasound) and they took our puppy dogs. :( I am grateful to them because we'll be staying in a hotel in Cincinnati until we find a house and the dogs are not used to being in one room all day long. My parents are home all day and they have a big backyard, so it truly is the best thing, but I love my doggies. I will miss them. However, the dogs LOVE my parents, so I don't think they will mind as much as I do that they will be gone.

School Days

Today is the first day of school at the high school where I used to work. So, today, there will be about 900 (yes, you read that right nine freakin HUNDRED) freshmen wandering around with their parents, wide-eyed/excited/frightened, trying to locate their rooms and mostly being on their best behavior.

This is only the second First Day of School I have missed in my school going years. The first was the summer I moved back from the UK. Technically, I suppose, I missed a first day of school when I was hired six weeks into the school year in 2006, but I got there soon enough!

I love teaching freshmen. They are my favorites. Honestly. Some people look at me like I have completely lost my mind when I say that, but I love them. I love being their first point of experience with high school English because it can shape, in some part, how they feel about English for the rest of their high school years.

I also love freshmen because they are not jaded like the other kids (yet). I taught seniors my first year at the high school and I could not wait for them to leave. It was just senior-itis all year long. With freshmen, they are still young enough to be goofy (and to tolerate a somewhat goofy teacher). Plus, they get and (some) appreciate my blazing sarcasm. Yes, yes, teachers. I, too, have read the books that say sarcasm has no place in the classroom, but if you have spent more than two minutes in my presence you know that sarcasm is as ingrained in my personality as blinking.

So, to those teachers out there--Happy first days of school. Not everyone understands how hard being a teacher can be and what a calling and a joy and a privilege it is.

Before people start making comments about how teachers get the summers off and blah, blah, blah. Think of your own children, especially if they are 14 or 15 years old (or imagine what your child will be like at 14-15), multiple that by 100 or more (last year, I had 135 students) and try to imagine being in one room with them for 8 hours a day. And keeping them focused. And keeping them from writing/passing notes; keeping them awake; keeping them from walking out of the room/or possibly cussing at you. Bringing in their baggage from a rough home life/learning disabillities/the fight they had with their boyfriend/girlfriend (ah, young love. It's kinda gross). Bringing in all of their fears and insecurities. And their hopes that they actually are/can be/have the potential to be smart and capable and successful (because that's really what they want, despite all their bravado of not caring).

And you--trying to harness all of that. Into something constructive. Focusing on something that means nothing to them right now (identifying participles anyone?). Trying to get them to see that they truly are shaping their futures right now and making some decisions that impact them.

Man, some kids have been ultra hard (or "tough to love") and some have been downright a$$holes. And some have really captured my heart and just made me want to cry because getting out of bed and coming to school/not being at home will be the best thing that would happen to them all day. Some are hilarious. Some are too cool. Some are nerdy. Some have been forgotten by name or face. But, in my 10 years of teaching, I've enjoyed myself and the people I have taught alongside.

Facebook sometimes pi$$es me off.

NEW POLL!!!!

As you can see, I am a big fan of the Poll gadget here on Blogger. Expect more. I like interactive websites.

Now, onto What Pi$$es Me Off Today.

Rant on!: Facebook and some stupid updates/comments/political rantings some people feel compelled to submit.

Now that I am unemployed, I turn to the internet for most of my amusement. Therefore, I log onto Facebook about 14 times a day just to see What Is Up.

I have many Facebook.Friends because, let's face it, who DOESN'T want to be friends with me? I am not only supercool, but funny and loving as well.

Until you pi$$ me off. Then, I will de-friend your @ss in a big hurry.

**These people are not people that I speak to on a regular basis. So, if you are reading this blog, then most likely you are a member of Those Near and Dear To My Heart and are not in any way in danger of being de-friended.

The people who ARE in danger of being de-friended are people from high school who I haven't seen/thought of/spoken to in 15 years--and remind me with their updates and comments WHY I haven't seen/thought of/spoken to in 15 years. Usually, these are also people I am suprised sent a Friend Request to me because we weren't close in high school and the only thing we have in common are that we went to same said high school. This also applies to some people in college, but in far fewer numbers. : !End Rant

I have also ignored Friend Requests as well. A memorable Ignore was a former student of mine who I despised (yes, teachers can and do dislike some of their students. At least, this one does. And, I can carry a student grudge with the best of them). It felt REALLY, REALLY good to ignore her TWO Friend Requests (oh, yes. She tried to friend me twice. And I ignored her rude, horrible attitude, shouty mouth both times.).

The ball is rolling

Our house is officially on the market. We signed the paperwork last night.

AND, the Weed Killers came on Tuesday. Debbie (you remember her) told me they would be at the house before 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Having explained to her yet again that I would not be at the house, she repeated they would be there before 10 a.m.

I pick up Craig'ums at the airport, we head to Starbucks for a bacon sandwich (OMG, have you had one of these? They are completely addictive), then head on home. We pull into the driveway at 9:59 a.m. And who comes right after us??? The Weed Killers. To their credit, the weeds are dying off already.

It's so nice having Craig home again. I've missed him!!! Of course, he leaves again on Monday for another week away, but still I get him for this week.

Lucky Duck

Okay, so perhaps "lucky" is not the correct term to describe Craig and the (almost) three straight weeks he has been away from home, but some positive DID happen to him today, the day of his grandfather's memorial service.

We were on the phone while Craig was at Heathrow and he heard his name being called over the intercom at his gate. He told me he would call me right back.

A few minutes later....he calls back and says, "You will never believe this. The flight has been oversold."

.....Flashback, flashback, flashback.... (wave your fingers in front of your eyes for full flashback effect)


to when I was at the airport and my flight to Cincinnati was oversold. I got bumped from the f)(*&*ng flight and had to get one the next day.

Craig continues on...

"The flight has been oversold and I've been bumped...to business class."

Man, if I were a lesser person (as in green with envy because I have ALWAYS wanted to take the flight from USA to UK or vice versa in something other than coach), I would not be happy for him. But, considering the past few weeks he's had and the week with his family under unhappy circumstances, I will be happy for him. He needs a nice flight home.

Today, I have spent all day waiting for a landscaper to come by and kill the weeds that have overtaken our front garden. At first I was hopeful that the weeds would pass for some sort of landscaping because some of them were flowering. But, no. It just looks crappy out there now. Last week, when I met with Joseph, the landscaper, he told me he would be here on Monday morning to take care of the weeds. This morning, I call Landscaping Company at 8 am because I wasn't sure time ol' Joseph would put in an appearance. No one answers so I leave a message. Four hours later, there is no call back (this from the Landscaping Company who last week called me about three times to confirm the estimate). So, I call back and leave another message at noon. Because I, despite popular belief, DO. HAVE.THINGS.TO.DO (like getting more boxes to pack up some of our clutter so we can get our house on the market and "show" worthy, which is why I need Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Weed Killer to come pronto). Apparently, this weed killer is special because it somehow knows what to kill and what to save (we do have some landscaping with bushes and stuff in there that we would like to keep alive).

I finally get a hold of Debbie, receptionist/office manager/unimpressive customer service representative. She says it's very hard to get a hold of Joseph because he is always doing estimates and busy. Well, Debbie, Joseph said he was coming by today and I just need to know When so I can kinda plan the rest of my day. She says she will get back to me.

Debbie gets back to me later--"Joseph said he told you he'd be by Monday or Tuesday morning."

Um, no, my sistah, he most certainly made no mention of Tuesday. Because I knew LAST week when Joseph was over that Tuesday morning was the one day that I had Stuff To Do, namely picking up my husband whom I have barely seen in three weeks from the airport and a lunch date planned with some of my former co-workers.

Debbie: "Well, if no one is there by 3:00 this (Monday) afternoon, they will come Tuesday morning."

Me: "Do you happen to know what time Tuesday morning? Do you think they could come before 9?" (Because I have a honey to pick up at 9:15)

Debbie: "I don't know."

Me: "Well, can you give Joseph my number and have him call me, please? I have been waiting for him today and I am not available tomorrow morning."

It is now 3:37 p.m. and no sign of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Weed Killer. And no phone call. And I am not happy.

I have devised a poll for my readers (all 6 of you). Please see right.