The week after school got out, we left for our extended year field study. We took 61 rising 8th graders and 8 adults to Williamsburg and Washington, DC.

We started off our trip in Jamestown.

From there, we went to Williamsburg for dinner and a tour the following morning.

That afternoon, we headed over to Busch Gardens, and the following morning, we woke up and headed straight to the Capitol.

After, we went to the Air and Space Museum. While eating lunch, our principal called us to tell us she was getting many phone calls from parents because they had heard about the shooting at the Holocaust Memorial. That was the first we heard of it. We had every student call their parents to let them know we were ok. The crazy thing is that we would have been there that day had we not had to make some last minute adjustments to our itinerary. Due to reports of car bombs, our buses drove right past us waiting for them when we were done at the museums. One bus made it back, but the bus driver for my bus got lost. We ended up waiting for an hour and 45 minutes. We finally found out our bus was one street over, so we ran to it. Once on it, we were side-swiped and lost a mirror. That was the craziest day of the trip. We finally made it to our hotel and to th eKennedy center for dinner and a performance of "Sheer Madness." The play was hilarious. I would love to see it again.


The next day, we did our memorial and monument walk in the morning.


From there, we went to Mt. Vernon for the afternoon. That evening, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and went to more monuments at night.

Friday morning FINALLY came. We packed up the bus and headed to Arlington. There, we had a few students lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

We were exhausted.

We boarded the bus for an uneventful trip home.

Carter enjoys rearranging the kitchen and playing in my plastic. I feel like I can never keep up with him!

His Dad has started calling him "Young Picasso" for his brilliant masterpieces:

Yes, we are still alive. Last week was very busy with 61 7th graders in Washington DC. I spent the weekend catching up around here. Now, I am off to work today through Wednesday. It will be work I enjoy (at least, I hope to). Don't give up on me. I will be posting soon....PROMISE.

A friend of mine gave Carter a swimming pool for his birthday. Carter has never been swimming. Today, I blew up the pool. After nearly passing out and getting cramps in my cheeks, it was done. Kevin set it up early, so the water could be warm when Carter woke up from his nap. I just knew he would be very excited about playing in it, and I could read my book while soaking my feet in the pool. He didn't last very long. He wanted to go over the patio and play with his car. Of course, he thought it was more fun to get in it without opening the doors. I would lead him back to the pool where he would play for a minute, get out, go back on the patio, and cry because it was hot on his feet.




I also have set up a swimming lesson. I found a guy who does them privately. With kids Carter's age, he really just teaches the parents how to work with them. I figured Carter and I can start going to the open swim at the gym on Thursday afternoons.

Carter has been rather cranky. This evening, I noticed his upper molars are really coming through and his bottom ones are starting to come in.

Carter has not been talking a lot lately. He babbles, but doesn't say the words he used to say. He just likes to say "ct" for cat, but today he starting saying "uh-oh."

I think that's all the excitement around here.

I have just finished a fun filled week of teaching sex-ed. 7th grade girls and 6th grade boys! Now, we only have 5 days left. I can do this. I really can. I actually LOVE my 7th graders this year. They are just a really fun group of kids, and for the most part, their parents have been very easy to deal with. Next year, I will be teaching 4 sixth grade math classes and 1 seventh grade math class. (Of course, that could very well change) The current group of 6th graders are very challenging, so I am happy to only have one class of them next year. It will be an interesting change for me. I love the team I have been on and absolutely love seventh graders. I'm hoping sixth graders will be as much fun. My team will be different, but I really like all of the members of it. Wish me luck making it through the final 5 days. The kids have already lost their minds, so I'm hoping no trouble arises. Of course, I will have the weekend to rest after this week, then the real fun begins....69 7th graders in Williamsburg and Washington DC. Thank goodness the doctor upped my thyroid medicine!

My hydrangeas are starting to bloom. The second picture is from a plant Kevin and his dad dug up at his grandmother's house. I've always wanted old hydrangeas. They didn't bloom last year after their move, but they will be full of blooms this year!

We decided to buy Carter his own broom since he has an odd obsession with my broom and Swiffers. He got a hold of it in the store and wouldn't even let the cashier scan it. In the mornings, we have to hide it under a blanket on the couch. If not, we must pry it out of his hands while he has a total melt down before leaving for daycare.

I am pretty sure we are raising a child prodigy. Carter is 11 months ahead on his terrible twos. Too bad daycare wasn't open today. We were tempted to drop him off on the front step with his blanket, soy milk, and a straw.

What could be a better toy than a Swiffer?

Anyone want a busy little boy who will keep you entertained for hours?






For more of Carter's antics, checkout flickr.

Hey, look at me cross the finish line at the Heart and Sole Women's Five Miler. (At least I think it's me)

Time: 43:49
#96 out of 509
#19 in my age division

I know you can't see it well. Hopefully, I will get the other pictures soon.

I had a blast running. I have walked this course a few times, but never had the guts to run it. I was able to run the whole thing and felt such a sense of accomplishment when I saw Kevin and Carter at the finish line.

I've been meaning to post pictures of Carter's school work. I am just thrilled when I check his cubby and find work in it to take home. Of course, my favorite is the mother's day card.

I bet my Thursday night was more exciting than yours!
I had planned to go to the gym to work out after school. Then, I was talking with a coworker about some of our students who like to create drama. She mentioned it's because their parents don't spend time with them. I felt guilt, picked Carter up from day care, and took him running. When we got home, I went by a neighbor's house to give her a Pampered Chef invitation before starting dinner.

I was making Calzones with ground beef, so I decided I wanted to put mushrooms and onions in mine. As I was cutting the onions, I somehow, got my thumb underneath and felt the knife go into it. It didn't hurt, but I knew it was bad. I screamed for Kevin to come downstairs and ran my thumb under water while holding onto it tightly. I called my mom to ask her how I would knowif I needed stitches. At that point, I began passing out. I have NEVER felt faint in my life, so I really thought I was dying as Kevin was calling my name and carrying me to the couch. I sat on the couch while Kevin gave me juice and I held my hand up with ice and a dish towel around it. Neither of us felt like going to the doctor, but as I went to our bathroom to bandage it, I realized it wasn't going to stop bleeding.

We got Carter and headed to a walk in clinic. Of course Carter wanted to make friends with all the sick people in the waiting room. I told Kevin to take him home, bathe him, and come back to get me. After a long anticipatory wait, the nurse called me back to the "special procedures room." There, she made me hold my thumb under warm running water for 10 minutes. That definitely was not the most enjoyable 10 minutes of my life. The nurse practitioner came in and numbed it beneath my thumb to do a digital block. That hurt like anything. When he came back 10 minutes later, it wasn't numb. He had to inject more closer to the cut and drip some in it. At this point, I screamed and cried. Five stitches later, I was good as new. One has since fallen out.

Carter started the day helping out neighbors' grandkids trying to capture bugs. He had fun chasing after the two boys.
Carter sure is a busy little boy with lots of energy! He seems to go go go from the time he wakes up until we put him to bed. Even when he is in bed, we can still hear him playing.

Today, he found a bag in my closet and pulled it around the house.


He loves to play in his toys and is especially fascinated by telephones. If we say, "hello," he holds his hands up to his ears. This evening, when I changed his diaper, I gave him the phone to play with, so he would keep still. Awhile later, he went back to our bedroom and straight to the phone. He pulled everything he could reach off our bed trying to get it.



He keeps us very busy, and we definitely don't have any problems going to sleep at night.

We sure have come a long way since last Mother's Day!


On a more serious note, I love mother's day. Being a mom is the greatest things in my life. It is amazing that no matter what kind of day I have had, a hug from Carter just erases everything. Before I had him, I wouldn't have believed anyone who would have told me being a mom would be this wonderful and I could love another person as much as I do. Sure, my life has changed, I don't have much time for myself, and I can never seem to catch up, but it is SOOO worth it. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I know!

To a wonderful mom on Mother's Day,
Dear Mom,
You have always been so thoughtful. You would never let a birthday or holiday go by without thinking of your love ones. We are truly sorry your family is not as good as you are. In fact, we are really really crappy! We did not make sure you had a Mother's Day card today. We do not know where we came from or who taught us not to care. Happy Mother's Day from your horrible family!

We have had a great weekend. Yesterday morning, I ran my first race. It was a 5K, and I ran it in just under 27 minutes. I really enjoyed it. (Well, the hill that started in the loose sand sucked big time!) I was hoping Kevin and Carter would meet me at the finish line, but Carter slept until 10:00! Kevin had baseball practice yesterday afternoon. That left Carter and me to go shopping and take a nap. After his nap, he performed his new trick....diving head first into a basket of clothes, reaching for the cabinet, and hanging from the pulls. Did I ever tell you how talented he is? Here are some pictures:



Today, Kevin's parents came to visit. We had a good day with them.

I truly hate Sunday nights. The work week is just looming. Not much school left!

Friday was the day Carter FINALLY got tubes. We got to the surgery center at 6:45, and they took us back rather quickly. I was worried Carter would turn into Cranky McGee, but he did great! He had a blast playing on the gurney. A nurse even brought him a fun toy to play with. The doctor was about 30 minutes late, but all went well. The doc said a lot of fluid came out when he put the tubes in. Carter was rather upset when he woke up, but he fell asleep on the way home. Once home, he had some milk and fell asleep for 4 hours. He woke up like nothing had ever happened:

Carter has crazy hair when he wakes up. I finally documented it:

(Notice, we make the poor child get up before the sun!)