Once upon a time I said I would NEVER EVER be a substitute teacher EVER again!!! Well, never say never. I have decided that being a sub is my best bet as far as being able to balance a family and having some sort of income, no matter how measly. I signed up today to be a sub at the boys’ school. I said I would work three days a week, that leaves me two other days to volunteer at the school and to do the stuff I need to do. It is a small school, so I really doubt I will be working three days a week, but you never know, especially once cold season kicks in. Anyhow, I am sure there will be days when I am reminded why I said I would never be a sub again, but as long as those days only come every once in a GREAT while, I am sure I will survive. And who knows, maybe this will lead to a permanent position at some point.
Archive for October 2008
Liam is so cute. He asked me last night why everyone wants Obama to win. I told him why I thought a lot of people like Obama. He then told me that he had read that McCain’s points are down and then told me he wants to vote for McCain. That is so Liam. He has always marched to his own drummer or however that saying goes. He sees what “everyone else” is doing and then does something else. He is his own person and I love that about him. 🙂
We went to Kaleidoscope today. I haven’t been there since I was a little girl and I had a picture in my head as to what it would look like. It doesn’t look the same at all! Oh, and we had so much fun! I love it because the kids can just make whatever they want. There is no direction. They are just free to create! There were two things I remembered making at Kaleidoscope from when I was a child. One was the candles. I loved it because you could pick out what color you wanted your candle to be and then you could dip it in the hot stuff and out came your brand new candle. My other favorite thing was the puzzle maker. You would color a picture on this cardboard stuff and then an adult would put it in this puzzle cutting machine and, voila, you would have your very own puzzle. Guess what?! They still have the puzzle maker!
Liam creating
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| From October 2008 |
Sunday-Pork Machaca-Serve with fresh cilantro, salsa and add a can of beans to the crockpot.
Monday-Sloppy Joes, Corn
Tuesday-Hot Italian Sausage, Peppers, add a can of Italian diced tomatoes, Fresh Italian Bread
Wednesday-Bruschetta Chicken, Salad
Thursday-Salmon, Salad, Corn Bread Sticks
Friday-Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach
It was going to happen sooner or later. Liam had his first semi-major bike crash today. No broken bones or anything like that, but he landed on his face. He looks like someone punched him right in the cheekbone. He also got caught in the inner elbow by the handlebars, I think; he has a weird-shaped bruise there, too. I took pictures of the poor guy, but they don’t do his injury justice. I will have to try again tomorrow.
Our school had their annual fall festival this weekend. It is one of the major fundraisers of the year, so it is a pretty big deal. The weather was perfect and the boys had a blast.
Liam went straight for this jumping contraption.
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| From October 2008 |
Fishing for prizes
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| From October 2008 |
Trying to win a real fish…so glad they lost.
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| From October 2008 |
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| From October 2008 |
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| From October 2008 |
Colm loves any book that has the Berenstein Bears in it; we just happen to be reading this one at the moment.
One year ago today we moved into our new house. I do not plan to put myself through that kind of hell again any time soon. I hate moving. Really, I do. If I learned anything from that move it is that hiring movers was THE BEST decision we made throughout the whole ordeal. They were worth EVERY EVERY penny. Our house really looks like people live here now, too. When we first moved in it was perfect-no dents, no scratches, no fingerprints on the walls. I can’t say that now. Happy anniversary, house. This is the only picture I have of us in the process of moving. It is a picture of the kitchen in our previous house which is clearly in limbo.
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| From Meadowridge House |
I went, I saw, I ate. Really, it was a very good time and the hostess did an awesome job decorating for the occasion. Each table had a different theme with the placecards, napkins, table decor, etc. but in a very adult way as opposed to a preschool Halloween party way. There was a fall-themed table, a bat table, a pumpkin table, a ghost table, etc. There was SO MUCH food-it was like Thanksgiving! There were two different types of lasagna, three different salads, two different types of risotto, a tortellini dish, roasted potatoes with olive oil and italian seasonings, carrots with mint, flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and lemon meringue pie. There were also various wines, Halloween brew/punch and some yummy tea. Oh, and there were three different appetizers. One was my bruschetta which was quite yummy if I do say so myself. (The secret is the fire-roasted tomatoes.) Am I glad I went? You bet. I had a nice time talking with my neighbors and I got to eat some great food.
I have some mixed feelings about going to gourmet today. Gourmet is a group of ladies in my neighborhood that meets once a month for a very nice lunch. When I say nice, I mean nice…linens, china, the works. There is a theme each month and then you are assigned an appetizer, beverage, main dish, dessert or salad, etc. and then you pick what you are going to make that goes with the theme. I have never been to gourmet before and am not a “regular” but signed up to be a sub so as to not seem totally non-social. Also, if you are a regular you have to host all of these ladies at your house at some point and, quite frankly, I don’t know where I would put 24 people for a sit-down luncheon. I just feel weird about all of us whiling away the afternoon sipping beverages and eating off of china while our husbands are working their tails off at work. It just seems so stereotypical JOCO housewife. Ugh! It is very organized, too. There is one mom who always has all the preschool and under kids at her house. Everyone chips in to pay for the babysitter and, voila, you have a kid-free afternoon. Which, I assume, is part the appeal. I am sure it will be lovely and the food will be great, but I am still going to feel a pang of guilt knowing my husband is at work enduring meetings and eating his brownbag lunch while I am eating a super yummy Italian feast. I have got my bruscetta fixings all ready, now I just need to make it. I’ll let you know how the party goes.