On the flight home after our little weekend trip, I sat next to a man and a woman. Sam was asleep on my lap for the entire flight, so I couldn't do much of anything except listen (or easedrop) to the people next to me. The guy was probably in his early to mid thirties, and the girl--a very skinny blond--must have been around the same age (however I initially thought she was 20 or younger--maybe this guy's little sister? Boy, was I wrong!). They were both LDS. It sounded like they had just met for the first time going through airport security. He sat was on the aisle seat, I was on the window seat, and the girl had already found a seat in the back of the plane. He asked if the middle seat was taken, and I had to say no since Sam didn't technically have a plane ticket, though it would have been nice to have not been so cramped. So he called back to the girl to sit by him.
Here's where it gets weird. They start talking, then pulls out his i-phone and shows off all his fancy toys, cars, and house. I hate guys who feel like they have to show off their money! For much of the flight, he goes through his 800+ pictures he has taken including his entire extended family and all the girls he has dated. He basically tells his whole life story: why he is still a bachelor, his life's goals, and overcoming his addiction with pornography.
Then the girl gets started. I found out that she couldn't have been 20 or younger because she is the mother of five children. Her husband hasn't been showing much interest in the church which has caused a lot of marital problems. She is debating whether or not to divorce him. She has even made a pro/con list of both options. This guy seemed very interested in her situation. It sounded like he wanted her to leave her husband. He got her number, took her picture in his i-phone, and asked if it would be too weird if he invited her to a singles dinner party at his house. Umm, can I say weird and inappropriate?! They didn't even know each other, and they were discussing some very intimate and personal things! She's still a married woman! I don't know, I think it's all a bit strange. At least it kept my mind away from missing Chris already.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Happy birthday to me!
Okay, I know my birthday isn't until June, but I did receive the best early birthday present from Mom and Dad. Saying goodbye to Chris when he flew up to Washington 10 weeks before Sam and I was such a sad thing! I was complete a mess! Honestly, how do people in the military do it? A few days later, Mom and Dad offered to fly Sam and I up to see Chris for a weekend thanks to a good deal Southwest had going. Merci mille fois!
So we left last Friday evening. Sam was a great little traveler--even better than his last plan ride earlier this year to Texas. It was great to see Chris again. Even though it had only been a few weeks, it had felt like a lot longer. I loved meeting most of our employees, and they all seem really great. While up there, I worked a little on the cash register and had fun chatting with some of our regular customers. I tried to work a little on the company's books, but Sam had other plans in mind and wanted to explore the store.
Since taking over the bakery, we have changed the store hours a little, and now we are closed on Sunday. So we tried to go to our ward at 9:30am, but when we got there, the parking lot was empty. Luckily we had been warned that stake conference was coming up, so we drove over to the stake center and found everyone. We sat next to several people from our ward--some people that Chris had met his first Sunday there, and people he had met while helping some other ward members move. There are lots of young families our age with one or two kids who are close to Sam's age. The moms invited me to their playgroups once we're up there permanently. They try to go to the local children's museum once a week in addition to other times during the week getting together. I'm glad Sam will have friends to play with up there. Everyone was so friendly.
Sunday afternoon we drove about an hour south to eat dinner with another new owner. Chris met them in Montana during his weeks of training, and they started their bakery one week after us. They are an LDS family with six kids. It was fun to share our war stories with each other. In talking with them, I became even more grateful for the apartment complex we found within walking distance of our bakery; their bakery is over an hour away! They had originally bought an area to have a bakery in the same city they live in, but then a second existing bakery (the one an hour away) became available to buy, so they bought that too. Being new to the Great Harvest Franchise, I hope getting two bakeries going isn't too stressful! In any case, it's nice to know that we have them as neighbors.
While we were up there, Washington was having record weather; it snowed five inches! It was crazy! During the few breaks of storminess, we wandered around the neighborhood and tried to explore the paths around our place, but we didn't get too far because it started to hail and we didn't have coats on. Regardless, we did go for some drives exploring the area around Puget Sound. It really is such a pretty part of the country. I'm so excited to live up there permanently! Just a little over a month and we'll get to live with Chris for good!
So we left last Friday evening. Sam was a great little traveler--even better than his last plan ride earlier this year to Texas. It was great to see Chris again. Even though it had only been a few weeks, it had felt like a lot longer. I loved meeting most of our employees, and they all seem really great. While up there, I worked a little on the cash register and had fun chatting with some of our regular customers. I tried to work a little on the company's books, but Sam had other plans in mind and wanted to explore the store.
Since taking over the bakery, we have changed the store hours a little, and now we are closed on Sunday. So we tried to go to our ward at 9:30am, but when we got there, the parking lot was empty. Luckily we had been warned that stake conference was coming up, so we drove over to the stake center and found everyone. We sat next to several people from our ward--some people that Chris had met his first Sunday there, and people he had met while helping some other ward members move. There are lots of young families our age with one or two kids who are close to Sam's age. The moms invited me to their playgroups once we're up there permanently. They try to go to the local children's museum once a week in addition to other times during the week getting together. I'm glad Sam will have friends to play with up there. Everyone was so friendly.
Sunday afternoon we drove about an hour south to eat dinner with another new owner. Chris met them in Montana during his weeks of training, and they started their bakery one week after us. They are an LDS family with six kids. It was fun to share our war stories with each other. In talking with them, I became even more grateful for the apartment complex we found within walking distance of our bakery; their bakery is over an hour away! They had originally bought an area to have a bakery in the same city they live in, but then a second existing bakery (the one an hour away) became available to buy, so they bought that too. Being new to the Great Harvest Franchise, I hope getting two bakeries going isn't too stressful! In any case, it's nice to know that we have them as neighbors.
While we were up there, Washington was having record weather; it snowed five inches! It was crazy! During the few breaks of storminess, we wandered around the neighborhood and tried to explore the paths around our place, but we didn't get too far because it started to hail and we didn't have coats on. Regardless, we did go for some drives exploring the area around Puget Sound. It really is such a pretty part of the country. I'm so excited to live up there permanently! Just a little over a month and we'll get to live with Chris for good!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Declining Enrollment
Do any of you remember last fall during the school voucher debates? One of the pro-vouchers points was that with students leaving public schools for private schools, the class size would decrease. Well, this is proof that that is not so. Unfortunately there is a formula that all public school must use which determines how many teachers are allowed to teach in proportion to how many students attend the school.
We had a faculty meeting this morning. Our school's enrollment has been declining over the past bunch of years simply because of the area's changing demographics, and in result of that, some teachers have to leave our school. This is called being RIS-ed (Reduction In Staff)--basically being forced to leave your school while being assured another position within the district. We found out last week that our school would be losing two teachers and two classes. They way the administration decides is simply by what department needs to be RIS-ed and then by seniority. We found out today who will not be coming back next year. Unfortunately, the whole process of choosing by seniority and not by who is a better teacher is flawed. In one case, our school is losing a very good teacher just because the other teacher in her department, who isn't as good of a teacher, has been there longer. I do believe that kids can get a quality education in public schools; however, I do believe that many policies and procedures do need to change in order to help these kids have the best chance at learning.
In other news, while other electives at my school are at risk, the Foreign Language Department is staying strong. Regardless of the fact that enrollment is going down, I was able to keep enrollment in French class exactly how it is this year: two French 1 classes and one French 2 class. That's a pretty good accomplishment for how small our school is becoming! It's just too bad I won't be the one teaching all these kids next year. I will miss them (most of them, anyway).
We had a faculty meeting this morning. Our school's enrollment has been declining over the past bunch of years simply because of the area's changing demographics, and in result of that, some teachers have to leave our school. This is called being RIS-ed (Reduction In Staff)--basically being forced to leave your school while being assured another position within the district. We found out last week that our school would be losing two teachers and two classes. They way the administration decides is simply by what department needs to be RIS-ed and then by seniority. We found out today who will not be coming back next year. Unfortunately, the whole process of choosing by seniority and not by who is a better teacher is flawed. In one case, our school is losing a very good teacher just because the other teacher in her department, who isn't as good of a teacher, has been there longer. I do believe that kids can get a quality education in public schools; however, I do believe that many policies and procedures do need to change in order to help these kids have the best chance at learning.
In other news, while other electives at my school are at risk, the Foreign Language Department is staying strong. Regardless of the fact that enrollment is going down, I was able to keep enrollment in French class exactly how it is this year: two French 1 classes and one French 2 class. That's a pretty good accomplishment for how small our school is becoming! It's just too bad I won't be the one teaching all these kids next year. I will miss them (most of them, anyway).
Sunday, March 30, 2008
My piggy bank after filling my car up yesterday!
I got this forward from a coworker the other day and that's exactly how I feel. After driving two cars and a U-Haul up to Washington with the gas prices they are these days, I think my piggy bank may starve to death!
Home Sweet Home
I had many requests for me to post pictures of our new apartment in Washington, and I am just now getting around to it. Unfortunately, they are not very good pictures. We hadn't finished unpacking and our batteries were dying, so we only got pictures of two of the rooms.
This is our living room. The blow-up mattress, sleeping bags, and boxes are now gone. We're looking for a cheap couch, but until then, we just have a LoveSac. And that bookshelf on the right was a nice gift from Chris' parents, but it was a beast to move up three flights of stairs! Our balcony is through those blinds. On a clear day you can see the Cascade Mountains; we also have a great view of the sunrise coming over the mountains.
This is our dining area. Again, imagine it with less clutter and fewer boxes. Because we have a corner apartment, we have an extra window on the left which is nice. On the right is the kitchen.
This is our skinny little kitchen. Not huge, but it'll do. Looking past Dad is our bathroom. It's a pretty good-sized bathroom with a washer and dryer area included.
We didn't get any pictures of our bedroom or Sam's bedroom. That will have to wait until I go up in three weeks (thanks Mom and Dad!) with our camera. Chris left here last Friday night and will be there until June when he comes to pick me and Sam up. The bakery officially becomes ours April 1st.
This is our living room. The blow-up mattress, sleeping bags, and boxes are now gone. We're looking for a cheap couch, but until then, we just have a LoveSac. And that bookshelf on the right was a nice gift from Chris' parents, but it was a beast to move up three flights of stairs! Our balcony is through those blinds. On a clear day you can see the Cascade Mountains; we also have a great view of the sunrise coming over the mountains.
This is our dining area. Again, imagine it with less clutter and fewer boxes. Because we have a corner apartment, we have an extra window on the left which is nice. On the right is the kitchen.
This is our skinny little kitchen. Not huge, but it'll do. Looking past Dad is our bathroom. It's a pretty good-sized bathroom with a washer and dryer area included.We didn't get any pictures of our bedroom or Sam's bedroom. That will have to wait until I go up in three weeks (thanks Mom and Dad!) with our camera. Chris left here last Friday night and will be there until June when he comes to pick me and Sam up. The bakery officially becomes ours April 1st.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Bath Time Mystery
One of Sam's towels has the following question:
"What do tiny turtles have for lunch?"
It sounds like it's supposed to be a joke, but I can't find or figure out the punchline, and it's really driving me nuts! Anyone have any insights?
"What do tiny turtles have for lunch?"
It sounds like it's supposed to be a joke, but I can't find or figure out the punchline, and it's really driving me nuts! Anyone have any insights?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Oh, the joys of junior high
I know that junior high kids are still going through all the changes that go with puberty. I can handle the crazy hormones and the daily drama, but what I'm having a hard time dealing with is the smell. I have a boy in one of my classes who stinks--not like BO or anything like that--he smells like poo. There is a three feet area around him that smells bad, and after he leaves the room, his stench remains in the classroom. I don't know if he doesn't shower often enough, if he doesn't change his clothes, or if he doesn't wipe. It's a mystery to me, and I wish I could help him, but I really don't feel comfortable talking to him about his personal hygiene--maybe his male gym teacher could do that.
Besides his smell, he really is a great kid. He's very smart (though he's failing the class because he doesn't turn in anything). He gave me a valentine and has me read his poetry all the time. I have high expectations for his future--I just hope personal hygiene is part of it.
Besides his smell, he really is a great kid. He's very smart (though he's failing the class because he doesn't turn in anything). He gave me a valentine and has me read his poetry all the time. I have high expectations for his future--I just hope personal hygiene is part of it.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Our Trip to Washington
I have had several requests to blog about our trip to Washington that we recently took, so here I go. We flew up there Friday evening, rented a car in Seattle, and drove up to Everett. As a side note, they gave us a PT Cruiser, and we decided that we will never buy one of those. It can't decide if it wants to be a small car or more of a SUV, and it doesn't handle U-turns very well (of which we did often as we tried to orient ourselves in this new city without getting too lost). The first night there, we met the current owners of the store there at the bakery. They are such a nice and generous couple and it was fun to see our future bakery.
Saturday we spent much of the day apartment hunting. We looked at so many that everything started to look the same and meld together. In the end, we think that we've found the best place for us. In fact, it's within walking distance from the bakery--just right around the corner. We haven't made it official yet. We'd like to wait until we hear back from the landlord to know if the lease can be transfered to our name.
Anyway, I think these are pictures of the apartment we finally chose. It'll be a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment (we'll be paying more for this than what we currently pay for our entire house! We seriously will need to downsize when it comes to furniture and stuff!).
Sunday we went to church. If we move into the apartment complex we've chosen, we will actually belong to a different ward. But what I hear from Eliza's friend Allison who used to live in Everett, all the wards are amazing. And speaking of Allison, she and her husband Ben invited us over for Sunday dinner (they now live about 30 minutes north of Everett). It's nice to know that there will be at least one person I know living near by.
Anyway, so that was basically our trip. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and I was surprised to see so much green during the winter! We're about 95% sure this is going to happen. It's kind of crazy and exciting and scary all at once!
Saturday we spent much of the day apartment hunting. We looked at so many that everything started to look the same and meld together. In the end, we think that we've found the best place for us. In fact, it's within walking distance from the bakery--just right around the corner. We haven't made it official yet. We'd like to wait until we hear back from the landlord to know if the lease can be transfered to our name.
Anyway, I think these are pictures of the apartment we finally chose. It'll be a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment (we'll be paying more for this than what we currently pay for our entire house! We seriously will need to downsize when it comes to furniture and stuff!). Sunday we went to church. If we move into the apartment complex we've chosen, we will actually belong to a different ward. But what I hear from Eliza's friend Allison who used to live in Everett, all the wards are amazing. And speaking of Allison, she and her husband Ben invited us over for Sunday dinner (they now live about 30 minutes north of Everett). It's nice to know that there will be at least one person I know living near by.
Anyway, so that was basically our trip. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and I was surprised to see so much green during the winter! We're about 95% sure this is going to happen. It's kind of crazy and exciting and scary all at once!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Lord Knows Me Best: The Reason I served in France and Switzerland, and not South America
This is a list made by Chris' cousin Debra serving a mission in Argentina. A few of them are fine, but the ones about the bugs and food made me really queasy!
TOP 20 THINGS I WOULDN´T HAVE DONE BEFORE THE MISSION (most of which have to do with food and bugs. In no special order...)
1. The "ant dance" - We have an ant problem in this apt. Raid is really expensive and so instead of poisoning them I sweep them all into a pile and dance on them . IT´s much cheaper and not as damaging to the body.
2. Squish a spider with the back of my spoon rinse it off and then eat off it (at least I rinsed it off)
3. Buy 2 tomates and an onion, cut them up into slices pour oil and salt over it and eat it - on purpose (it´s a very argentine salad... I love it!)
4.Wash all my clothes by hand - including dirty socks and underwear (TMI I
know)
5. Find a 50 billion ants in my bread, shake them off into the sink, and eat...and continue picking them off the bread as I eat it (not all of them shook off)
6. Find lots and lots of spiders in my bed and not die and continue to sleep without problems
7.Wear the same dress 3 days in a row without washing it
8.Eat cow heart
9. Eat boiled chicken with many, many feathers still attached
10. Clean under the stove, find over 500 teeny little spiders that began to climb all over me, and not even get up to shake them off.
11. Buy bread twice a week from a guy that sells it from the trunk of his car.
12. Walk between 10 and 15 kilometers everyday without problem
13. Brush my teeth with a toothbrush that is crawling with ants (Like I said, this apt has an ant problem...really)
14. Pick up a spider´s egg out of curiosity to examine it
15. Exercise every morning
16. Kiss everyone, all the time, 50 times a day, when I enter and leave a room even if it´s 44 degrees C outside and everyone is sweating and nasty
17. Boil noodles to make macaroni and find the pot full of little green grasshopper like bugs...strain the noodles and keep going.
18. Put sunscreen in my hair
19. Eat in a member´s house...pull one hair out of the food... continue eating...pull another out...continue eating...pull another out....etc
20. Sing in front of anyone anywhere without problems whether it be in church or on the street corner.
TOP 20 THINGS I WOULDN´T HAVE DONE BEFORE THE MISSION (most of which have to do with food and bugs. In no special order...)
1. The "ant dance" - We have an ant problem in this apt. Raid is really expensive and so instead of poisoning them I sweep them all into a pile and dance on them . IT´s much cheaper and not as damaging to the body.
2. Squish a spider with the back of my spoon rinse it off and then eat off it (at least I rinsed it off)
3. Buy 2 tomates and an onion, cut them up into slices pour oil and salt over it and eat it - on purpose (it´s a very argentine salad... I love it!)
4.Wash all my clothes by hand - including dirty socks and underwear (TMI I
know)
5. Find a 50 billion ants in my bread, shake them off into the sink, and eat...and continue picking them off the bread as I eat it (not all of them shook off)
6. Find lots and lots of spiders in my bed and not die and continue to sleep without problems
7.Wear the same dress 3 days in a row without washing it
8.Eat cow heart
9. Eat boiled chicken with many, many feathers still attached
10. Clean under the stove, find over 500 teeny little spiders that began to climb all over me, and not even get up to shake them off.
11. Buy bread twice a week from a guy that sells it from the trunk of his car.
12. Walk between 10 and 15 kilometers everyday without problem
13. Brush my teeth with a toothbrush that is crawling with ants (Like I said, this apt has an ant problem...really)
14. Pick up a spider´s egg out of curiosity to examine it
15. Exercise every morning
16. Kiss everyone, all the time, 50 times a day, when I enter and leave a room even if it´s 44 degrees C outside and everyone is sweating and nasty
17. Boil noodles to make macaroni and find the pot full of little green grasshopper like bugs...strain the noodles and keep going.
18. Put sunscreen in my hair
19. Eat in a member´s house...pull one hair out of the food... continue eating...pull another out...continue eating...pull another out....etc
20. Sing in front of anyone anywhere without problems whether it be in church or on the street corner.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Car Update
After having three people try to help me jump poor Jimmy, Chris had to drive out to my school to look at what was wrong. It turns out it was just the battery--I felt so bad that I dragged him all the way out there just for that. Even worse when I found out he had been rear ended on his way out! Will the car problems ever end?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I'm done with cars! I'll just bike everywhere!
In my not-so-smart about cars lingo, here are the many car problems we have had within the last month or so:
- Something was wrong with poor Jimmy costing $500
- Some plastic thing hanging down scraping against the road on the Camry
- Tire blowout on the Camry
- Had to replace all four tires on the Camry--another couple hundred dollars
- What we thought was just the plastic thing continuing to scrape against the road turns out to be something else which prevented us from taking the Camry to Montana
- Poor Jimmy won't start even after trying to jump start it, and the long-term Spanish sub guy says it's probably more serious than the battery.
Madame Taylor est chouette!
My kids got kick of me trying on these glasses. They all pulled out their camera phones for a quick photo shoot. I should have put on my mean face for the pose (Quoi?! Mme Taylor est mechante? C'est pas possible!)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
One Step Closer
We made a quick trip up to Dillon, Montana Sunday night till Monday to meet with the franchise. We spent the day meeting with representatives from all the departments and learning their roles in helping bakery owners. It all ended with a big round-table interview with everyone we had met throughout the day. It wasn't supposed to be scary, but it was kind of intimidating knowing that our future was contingent on this meeting. We just got a call from the franchise this afternoon saying that we've been approved. So we're one step closer to owning our own bakery!
Monday, February 04, 2008
My Drive to Work
Speaking of scary driving experiences, I have one of my own to tell. Last Saturday we noticed a weird noise coming from the bottom of our car. I don't know the technical terms, but some sort of protective piece had come unscrewed and was hanging down dragging on the street. So Chris just unscrewed the rest of it and put it in the trunk. Also, the front driver-side tire had been getting a little low, so last Friday I filled it up with some more air. No problems there.
Well, this morning I was driving down the freeway and I noticed a funny sound. I pulled off of the freeway to check my tires, but all four tires seemed to be just fine. I figured it was probably just the sound of not having that protective piece on the bottom any more, so I kept driving. The roads were pretty slick this morning, but as I continued south, they improved, so I increased my speed thinking it was safe. But then I started to swerve and loose control, so I slowed down and got out of the fast lane. I swerved again (luckily no cars were close to me) and just thought all the other cars passing me handled the snow better. I figured it was the snowy roads. I continued driving and took my exit, all the while my car was still making weird noises. I pulled over, and realized that I had blown-out my tire. Though of all the tires, I would have thought that it would have been my front driver-side tire since it had been losing air. Luckily I was close enough to work that my mentor, the Spanish teacher, was able to come pick me up.
Well now I know what it feels like to have a tire blowout, so I'll know what to do better next time. I just hope I haven't hurt the car too much.
Well, this morning I was driving down the freeway and I noticed a funny sound. I pulled off of the freeway to check my tires, but all four tires seemed to be just fine. I figured it was probably just the sound of not having that protective piece on the bottom any more, so I kept driving. The roads were pretty slick this morning, but as I continued south, they improved, so I increased my speed thinking it was safe. But then I started to swerve and loose control, so I slowed down and got out of the fast lane. I swerved again (luckily no cars were close to me) and just thought all the other cars passing me handled the snow better. I figured it was the snowy roads. I continued driving and took my exit, all the while my car was still making weird noises. I pulled over, and realized that I had blown-out my tire. Though of all the tires, I would have thought that it would have been my front driver-side tire since it had been losing air. Luckily I was close enough to work that my mentor, the Spanish teacher, was able to come pick me up.
Well now I know what it feels like to have a tire blowout, so I'll know what to do better next time. I just hope I haven't hurt the car too much.
Quick Trip to Texas
The weekend so many of us decided to skip town, we decided (or perhaps fate decided) that we too ought to leave as well. Chris' grandpa passed away after years of sickness. In fact, I had never met Grandpa Brannock in a well condition in the 3 1/2 years I had known him. So thanks to Delta Skymiles we were able to fly down to the Dallas area for the funeral.
Both our flights coming and going were during Sam's nap time, so we were worried that he'd be cranky. On the way there, he did a little bit of flirting with the young girls the row ahead of us, cried and screamed for about five minutes, and then slept the rest of the way there. Coming home was a little better: he only cried and screamed for a couple minutes and then fell asleep.
It was great to see all of Chris' relatives, especially the many aunts, uncles, cousins, and both sets of grandparents who live down there who we don't get to see too often. The funeral was nice, though the weather was very dreary. Grandpa Brannock's body was buried under an oak tree on some family-owned property in the country--a very peaceful resting place.
While there, we were also able to celebrate Chris' birthday. Man is he old or what! We celebrated with some good ol' fashioned southern cooking (which isn't actually something I like too much. It's a good thing we're probably moving up north!).
Both our flights coming and going were during Sam's nap time, so we were worried that he'd be cranky. On the way there, he did a little bit of flirting with the young girls the row ahead of us, cried and screamed for about five minutes, and then slept the rest of the way there. Coming home was a little better: he only cried and screamed for a couple minutes and then fell asleep.
It was great to see all of Chris' relatives, especially the many aunts, uncles, cousins, and both sets of grandparents who live down there who we don't get to see too often. The funeral was nice, though the weather was very dreary. Grandpa Brannock's body was buried under an oak tree on some family-owned property in the country--a very peaceful resting place.
While there, we were also able to celebrate Chris' birthday. Man is he old or what! We celebrated with some good ol' fashioned southern cooking (which isn't actually something I like too much. It's a good thing we're probably moving up north!).
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The 18 month visit
Here are the most recent stats:
Weight: 24 lbs 8 oz (35th percentile)
Length: 31 in (20th percentile)
Head circumference: 48.5 in (75th percentile)
They had to poke his toe for a hemoglobin test (I think). First toe they poked didn't give enough blood, so they poked a second toe, and the bleeding wouldn't stop! The girl kept saying things like, "I'm so confused! I don't know why it's bleeding so much! I have never had anyone bleed like that before for this kind of test!" That didn't make me feel so great, but eventually his toe stopped bleeding and he's fine now. Anyway, overall his health is great and is continuing to catch up from being so scrawny his first year of life.
Weight: 24 lbs 8 oz (35th percentile)
Length: 31 in (20th percentile)
Head circumference: 48.5 in (75th percentile)
They had to poke his toe for a hemoglobin test (I think). First toe they poked didn't give enough blood, so they poked a second toe, and the bleeding wouldn't stop! The girl kept saying things like, "I'm so confused! I don't know why it's bleeding so much! I have never had anyone bleed like that before for this kind of test!" That didn't make me feel so great, but eventually his toe stopped bleeding and he's fine now. Anyway, overall his health is great and is continuing to catch up from being so scrawny his first year of life.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Words Sam can say at 18 months
- I wan my nana (I want my banana)
- I wan up--bphew (I want up--with some spitting after)
- I wan dat (I want that)
- dada
- mama
- no
- peek-a-boo
- doggan (doggy)
- diaper
- bible
- scriptures
- amen
- two
- all gone
- ooh, ohh, ah, ah (monkey sounds)
- pig sounds
- hi
- hello
- bye
- on
- up
- pleeh (please)
- cheese
- Anna
- Peter
- Hyruh (Hyrum)
- head
- juice
- hot
- all duh (all done)
- shoes
- hat
- brr
- uh-oh
- baby
- fish
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Update on Everett
Here is an update on our potential purchase of the Everett, Washington Great Harvest. For weeks, we went back and forth deciding first of all if we wanted to take this deal. It has been such an emotional roller coaster trying to figure if we could make this thing work. Some days we had accepted that it probably wouldn't be possible and tried to move on planning Chris' Spring semester. And then within the same day, something would change, and we would be back to trying to do everything to allow this to happen. Basically it's been stressful and exhausting.
The most current update is that we have decided that we do want to buy the bakery. From the very beginning, we've felt like this is what our family needs. We decided to drop Chris' classes at the U with the faith that this is the direction we're supposed to go in. It's a great deal, we'll probably never see a deal this good again, and this is something Chris is really excited about--and for those of you who know how hard it's been for Chris to find something he's really passionate about to choose as a career, this is really a big thing. Anyway, so we think we've got the financial stuff all squared away, we had a phone interview with the franchise yesterday, and we are planning a mandatory trip up to Dillon, Montana for the final interviews at the franchise within the next week or two. After that, the franchise will let us know if we can go ahead with the transfer and buy the bakery.
So that's where we're at for now. I hope it all works out. I just want Chris to enjoy his work. We'll keep you all posted.
The most current update is that we have decided that we do want to buy the bakery. From the very beginning, we've felt like this is what our family needs. We decided to drop Chris' classes at the U with the faith that this is the direction we're supposed to go in. It's a great deal, we'll probably never see a deal this good again, and this is something Chris is really excited about--and for those of you who know how hard it's been for Chris to find something he's really passionate about to choose as a career, this is really a big thing. Anyway, so we think we've got the financial stuff all squared away, we had a phone interview with the franchise yesterday, and we are planning a mandatory trip up to Dillon, Montana for the final interviews at the franchise within the next week or two. After that, the franchise will let us know if we can go ahead with the transfer and buy the bakery.
So that's where we're at for now. I hope it all works out. I just want Chris to enjoy his work. We'll keep you all posted.
Leaving my kids
I was absent from school for the first time yesterday for a training class at the district offices (it was about incorporating writing in all content areas--very interesting and useful stuff!). My goal is to not miss too many days of teaching; for one, I get a big bonus at the end of the year if I don't use too many sick days, and two, it's a pain to prepare lesson plans that substitutes who don't necessarily know anything about French can follow. So anyway, I left my kids for the first time in the hands of a substitute teacher, and it felt similar to the first time we left Sam with a babysitter. I was nervous they wouldn't be good for the sub and cause trouble. Today upon my return, I read from the sub that my students had behaved well, and my students said they were happy I was back. When I told them I would have to miss another day in two weeks (for the second and last day of training on the same topic), one of my girls said, "Ah, Madame Taylor, we're going to miss you!" I sure like my job! What fun kids!
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