... this is my problem.
Knight and I are toying with the idea of taking a weekend vacation. We'd like someplace within driving distance, an affordable (but nice) hotel room, and one nice place to eat. I'd like to stay two nights. We are considering San Antonio.
So, today being President's Day and all, I thought I'd look online to see about hotel rates. (Again, please email me if you see a connection.) Well! According to hotels.com, one is not allowed to stay near the Riverwalk unless one can shell out $200 a night for a room. Now, I don't really know what I expected, but I can tell you that wasn't it.
This would be really nice, but I think I'd die a slow death while I was there, thinking about how much it cost for each second that we slept there.
How does one create a Deluxe Standard Room? Is it Deluxe or is it Standard?
I'm also a firm believer that you get what you pay for, (unless you have a really, really great coupon or something) so we won't be staying here.
Things aren't any brighter at expedia.com.
I think I'll email the Lovely Mir at WantNot. She always has fabulous ideas, and she's pretty.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Champagne taste on a beer budget...
10 Weird Things About Me
I picked up the tag from Heather to list 10 weird things about me... So, here goes.
1. I have an unhealthy obsession with organization. I like everything to be in its place, all the time, and I heap undue amounts of guilt on myself when it isn't. I'm working on that, though. Having a two year old helps, I think.
2. When I was 15 and the Dallas Cowboys were at the beginning of their reign as Super Bowl Champs, I told my dad that I wanted to grow up and marry Troy Aikman. He said that if I could talk Troy Aikman into it, he'd sign all the papers so I wouldn't have to grow up first. Never happened.
3. I pray for my family every morning. That's probably fairly normal, but what may be weird is that I also pray for any and all of Jet's future girlfriends and his future wife. I pray that God will bless my son with wisdom and discernment, because all girls have cooties. Seriously, though, I fervently pray for male friends that will sharpen Jet, and wisdom on Jet's part to choose friends and girlfriends that would please God. I pray for his future wife, wherever she is, that God will bring friends into her life that will sharpen her and for wisdom and discernment for her parents to raise her in a Godly manner. My grandparents have prayed for me (and my siblings and family) daily for years, and I know that their efforts on my behalf have been worthwhile. It's very comforting to know that they have done that, and continue to do so. Hopefully, someday, the same thought will comfort Jet.
4. I think all feet (even my own) are yucky, except for Jet's. I love his cute toes, and love to kiss them (after he gets out of the bath). I even requested that my bridesmaids wear closed-toed shoes at my July wedding because I didn't want people to have to look at toes on the stage. (I know, that one is ridiculous, and I really wasn't Bridezilla, I promise.)
5. If I knew we could provide for all of them, financially and emotionally, I'd have half a dozen kids. Or more.
6. To follow up with #1, I also have an unhealthy obsession with The Container Store. Fortunately, the closest one is a 45-minute drive. I dream of winning the lottery, walking into the store and saying, "Yes, I'll have one of everything, and please come set it ALL up in my NEW house that has eleventy thousand closets in it."
7. I have to change the channel when I see one of those adopt-a-starving-kid commercials. They really get to me. I actually cried at the news stories of all the orphans after the hurricanes. I don't want to think about them because it raises all of the "Why, God?!?" questions. I know God is in control, but I don't want to dwell on the things that hurt.
8. I'm always thinking about my teaching. It runs in the background of my mind. Everything I see gets evaluated for possible integration into my lesson plans.
9. Most of my life, I have not liked chocolate. I liked it in small amounts, like in a Snickers bar, for example. Mostly, though, I haven't liked chocolate. Until recently. Suddenly, I really like it, and it ticks me off. I've always smugly reasoned that I was better than the chocoholics out there because that was one battle I didn't have to fight. No more. *sigh* Pride goeth before fall, or weight gain, or something like that.
10. Last, but not least, I can't stand loose hairs. I've never cleaned out a hairbrush or a comb. Once, Beezneez cleaned mine out for me but left the clump of hair on the brush as a prank. I didn't notice, and when I picked it up, the hair tumbled over my hand and down my arm to my elbow. I actually threw up. Honestly. Knight is wonderful because he cleans out my hairbrushes.
Psycho-babble
Hello, everybodeeeeee!
No, I haven't posted in almost a week. Yes, I feel bad about that.
Here is the problem: I sit down in the evening and check email, read other blogs, etc., and then visit my own blog. As I think back through my day, I don't really think much is blog-worthy (there may be some very deep psychological meaning to that, but I don't really think we have time to dig into it here).
There are many things that I intended to do with this blog; the primary reason I started it was to write cute things about Jet so that my family who lives far, far away could keep up with him. The problem with this is that, while there are many things he does on a daily basis that melt my heart and these are the things I would like to share, many of them do not translate well in this medium. I've decided not to post pictures of my family for various reasons, and most of the things that Jet does involve facial expressions or body movements that are downright, knee-slapping hilarious... but I'm not going to post them here.
Another problem I'm having can be illustrated by the reason why I don't use my major much. You see, I majored in Spanish in college. I was going to teach it, but then realized that my true love (academically speaking) is science, so I minored in biology, which is why I teach science instead of Spanish. During the course of my studies, I learned that there are two different methods of operation used by people who learn a second language.
I forget the names for each, but one type of person will just start upchucking words in an effort to get their point across. They aren't concerned about correct grammar, verb conjugation, etc. They just want to communicate. This is my husband. He is Hispanic, but did not learn Spanish as a child. This is another story, which I will post about later -- it has its funny parts. He picked up bits and pieces as a kid (mostly curse words), and then took a few hours in college (mostly not curse words).
The second type of person is very concerned about being correct. This one is me. I like to have the entire sentence put together correctly in my head before I open my mouth. Now, there's a lot that goes into this sentence-building thing, for those of you who don't speak another language. I would rather keep my mouth shut than come across as a fool stumbling through a sentence. (I'm not saying that people actually perceive me this way, but it's how I feel. I'm also not saying that that other type of person is a fool...) Again, there may be deep psyhcological meaning to this, but...
The good news is that I can pick up the language very quickly when I need to. If I'm in a situation where I need to translate for someone else, at the grocery store or the pharmacy or something, I can do that. If we go across the border to Mexico to do some shopping, I can communicate well. There's a lot of body language and gesturing and circumlocution (which is a very handy skill in playing Taboo, right, Beezneez?) involved, but I do well.
Are you still with me? Good. Here's the connection: I spend too much time worrying about how my writing will come across to other people. Will they think this is funny? boring? too detailed? not witty enough? useless drivel? I need to just do it.
So, today, being President's day and all, is a new day. (You figure out the connection. Please email me if there is one.) I'm just going to write because I like it and because I like to look back and see what I've written.
Onward!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Yay for Jet!
Last night I decided that I was Fed Up with getting kicked/elbowed/smacked all night long. I decided that Jet was going to sleep in his own bed. (Yes, I recognize the folly in deciding that my two-year-old son will do anything. I just. Couldn't. Take. It. Any. More. Plus, we'd like to have another baby, and I just don't see that happening with Jet sleeping smack in the middle of our bed.)
The Plan is to get him used to falling asleep in his own room instead of in our laps in the living room or in bed with us.
First, I went through our usual routine of bath and warm milk. Then, instead of reading him a book in the recliner in the living room, I sweet-talked him into laying down in his toddler bed, while I sat on the floor and read to him. He picked his Dinosaur book, and One Fish, Two Fish. We read those, and he was blinking slowly, with that thousand-yard stare. I foolishly thought Wow! This might be easy!
We finished the books, said his prayers, and I tucked him in. I quietly left the room, but stood outside the door. I'm trying to do the the Supernanny trick, where I just put him back in bed. Supposedly, he's getting up because he wants attention. Jo says to just put him back in bed without talking to him or giving him any positive reinforcement for getting up, and eventually he'll realize that I Mean Business, lay his sweet head on his little pillow.
She obviously has never met Jet-the-Stubborn, though I honestly don't think he's as bad as some of the monsters she's had on her show. Usually, he doesn't cry about the whole situation. He just keeps getting up. Over and over again until one of us breaks down and rocks him to sleep or drags him to bed with us because tying him down in his own bed until he falls asleep is considered abuse in some cultures.
Last night, though, I was determined to win. It escalated to spanking, which I almost never do because I don't like it and it doesn't usually work with Jet. Time-outs work really well, but that involves putting him in a chair in the living room, which was precisely what he wanted. Not much of a punishment. I spanked him twice for getting out of bed.
Finally, I enlisted Knight's help because I was so frustrated. Up to this point, Knight was engrossed in 24, which we were taping for friends who are scuba-diving in Belize this week (I'm trying to figure out what we're getting out of the deal -- they go to Belize and come back to recorded 24, and we get.... umm... to record 24. Not that we minded. We watch it anyway.)
Knight went into Jet's room and held him for awhile, then put him in bed and sang to him and patted his back. Things quieted down and Knight came out. Jet followed in about 10 seconds.
I went back in and sang and patted. I even sat down next to the bed. I was In for the Long Haul. Finally, he dozed off. I carefully got up amid legos and trucks and books, trying not to trip over anything or make a sound... and hit the stupid wire-coil door-stopper thing next to his closet door - TWAA-AAA-AAA-AAANG. I dropped my head but managed to keep my dirty words inside as Jet popped his head up and asked, "What are you doing, mommy?"
"I'm patting your back and singing some more, apparently."
He dozed back off quickly, though, and I was so proud of him for falling asleep in his own bed. I glanced at the clock as I came out of his room and realized that the whole ordeal only took about 45 mintues. It felt like an eternity, though.
Knight was supposed to do a big song and dance this morning about how proud we are that Jet fell asleep in his own bed last night. I don't know how well it went, since Knight is not much of a morning person. I think he took Jet to get donut holes for breakfast to celebrate.
Even if he did come in at 3:00 this morning to climb in our bed. Maybe by getting used to falling asleep in his room, he'll do better at falling back to sleep on his own.
Hopefully, this is the rekindling of a long and beautiful friendship between Jet and His Own Bed.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Just keep praying, just keep praying...
It's the Christian version of Nemo.
For those who may not know, Knight and I have realized that I need to spend more time with the family. I have an incredible passion for my job -- so much so that I feel emotionally and physically exhausted at the end of each day of teaching. I love my students, and I love working hard to help them learn and be successful. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to temper this enthusiasm and reserve more energy to serve my family in the evenings when I'm home.
Part of my job this year is helping to bolster our science curriculum. We decided to add an environmental science course for next year, and as I was making plans for this course next year, it was very clear to me that I wasn't going to be the one teaching it. It was strange, really, but all I can say is that I just knew I wasn't going to be a part of the curriculum next year. I knew God had other plans for me.
I argued with Him about it for awhile. I feel that my ability to teach is truly a gift. I couldn't figure out why God would be asking me to give that up just when I was really settling in at my school (this is my second year there). I've spent a year and a half developing relationships with my students; I've said all along that my favorite thing about this school is that I would get to have the same students year after year, teaching four sequential courses. I'd get to really develop relationships with them and see them mature spiritually and academically. I'd get to really invest in them, instead of just teaching them for a few months and sending them on to the next teacher. As I was expressing this to Knight, he pointed out to me that I wouldn't stop teaching. Jet needs me to teach him about billions of things, as will our future children.
Knight and I have always planned for me to be a stay at home mom at some point. We had made plans to get pregnant with #2 this summer, and then I would teach through the school year (like I did the entire time I was expecting Jet) and resign after that. Apparently God has other plans, which, I might add, isn't too surprising. I've heard that saying that goes something like, "If you want to hear God chuckle, tell Him your plans."
Don't get me wrong -- I am completely in love with the idea of staying home with Jet next year. The truth is that if I don't do it this next year, I won't be able to do it. He'll be starting preschool (at least part-time) the year after that.
However, I'm also the type of person who puts her emotions on hold until all the details are worked out. Once I can see a clear path of how the idea can be put into action, I allow myself to get excited. I can handle being disappointed about something if I didn't really get excited about it in the first place. I'm afraid of being let down after I get my heart set on staying home with Jet because it's something I really, really want.
My Grandad Glenn reminds me that I serve a really, really big God. I've been looking at all kinds of options for part-time employment, stay at home work, tutoring, even going back to school for some type of training for a job that I could more easily do part-time. The entire time, I feel God telling me to just trust Him. Be still, and know that I am God. Knight will need to make up about half of my paycheck each month for us to live comfortably. That's about $1000 a month. I almost laugh out loud when I think about what a pittance that must seem to the God of the universe.
So, I just keep praying, just keep praying... for more faith and more patience.
I like you, varmint!
My dad and brother came over today to play with Jet. Jet is still in the parroting stage, where he'll repeat just about anything you say. He knows he usually will get a huge reaction out of us, because he's just so stinkin' cute.
In the process of playing today, my dad did his best Yosemite Sam impersonation and said, "I like you, varmint". (FWIW, Knight and I tried really hard to find a link to an audio file of this, but couldn't. If you find one, email me and I'll stick it in this post!)
Jet, of course, tried to say it back. Only, it came out, "I like you, VOMIT!"
Tee-hee!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Lazy Saturday
This past week was crazy, with Jet and me both being sick. Plus, we had a "showcase night" at school on Thursday evening -- it's for prospective families to come see what our school is about. Therefore, we all have to put our best foot (feet?) forward and glad-hand and make the school look its best. That's all well and good, except that I was trying to catch up from missing a day and a half and I was sick. So, I didn't get home until 9:30 on Thursday.
Last night, we went to Blockbuster and rented a few movies. We watched One Night with the King, and I thought it was great. I studied the book of Esther a couple of years ago with the women's Bible study at our church, and I thought the movie stuck to the story pretty well.
Knight went for a walk first thing this morning, and I was proud of him. So proud, in fact, that I went back to bed about 10:30. I never do that, but I was falling asleep sitting up in the chair in the living room. I think I was still recovering from this week. I slept until noon, then showered, but didn't bother with hair or make-up, and that was wonderful!
Jet and I watched some TV and ate lunch.
Then Knight went to bed and slept for three and a half hours. Jet and I played football, colored pictures, played play-doh, ate popsicles, and cuddled while we watched Monsters, Inc.
Loads of laundry haven't been done, floors haven't been vacummed, (dishes were washed, though, thanks to Knight), and bathrooms haven't been cleaned. Today, however, was wonderful.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Mmmm... NyQuil.
On the list for the store:
DayQuil
NyQuil
Milk
Diet Dr. Pepper
In the bags when I came home:
DayQuil
NyQuil
Milk
Diet Dr. Pepper
Diet Coke
Bananas
Grapes
Canned pears
Pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream: Moo-lennium Crunch
Pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream: Pecan Pralines and Cream
Elmo Valentines for Jet for next week's party
Next up: Slug of NyQuil and an in-depth meeting with my pillow to discuss sleep.
Okay, so I sorta meant it...
I guess I'd better be more careful what I wish for. Fortunately, the doctor said it was "one of any of a million viruses", and not the flu or strep or anything else serious. Hopefully that means that I can fight it without a fever.
I really wouldn't have minded being sick instead of Jet, but I don't much care for being sick with Jet. I think he may be over it, though. When he crawled into bed with us sometime last night, he wasn't feverish at all. In fact, he was cool and clammy, as if it had just broken.
However, I was kept awake after 4:00 by the sounds of both of my wonderful men snoring -- Knight in his way that I've learned to sleep through and that can be comforting, and Jet with his congestion that made me wonder if he had stopped breathing every two minutes. I very seriously considered recording them with our camera -- even if it was too dark to see it, the audio would have been great.
Anyway, it's off to work for me. I got about three hundred loads of laundry done and put away yesterday, which means there's only two loads left. Knight and I are splitting the day today, so I'll come home at noon. Part of me says "Yay! More time with Jet!" and part of me says "Oh, man, how am I ever going to catch up at work?". Oh, well. It'll work out.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
I wish I could be sick instead...
My poor sweet son has had a fever and major sinus congestion since Saturday morning. I hate it when he's sick, even though he's not really acting sick. He's still playing hard, and only slightly more cranky than usual. He's still eating, as long as I keep his Tylenol on schedule to control the fever a little. Tonight he was asleep in his daddy's lap at 7:10, which is a minor miracle. He needs the sleep almost as much as I do.
He may have an ear infection. When he was 6 months old, he went through four ear infections in three months. His pediatrician (whom I love, love, LOVE) put tubes in his ears, and it was like magic. He hasn't had an ear infection since then. However, when we went in a couple of months ago, his doctor noted that the tubes had fallen out. I know that some kiddos have to have more put in, and I'd be okay with that. I'll be calling in the morning for an appointment. The doctor's office is wonderful about squeezing us in.
He's just so clingy and needy when he's sick. On one hand, there's a part of me that gets frustrated because I'm trying to get other stuff done, like laundry and dinner. On the other hand, most of me loved being able to drop everything to cuddle and mommy him all day yesterday. I love taking care of him. I suppose it's true that we all need to feel needed, but the need I have to take care of him is overwhelming. I think I'm going to wither up and die when he gets old enough to not need me as much. Hopefully God will grow my heart along as he ages so I'll be prepared.
