casa

The new house

Well folks - we did it. We are in the new house. Things here have been nothing short of wild and crazy (I hear Dan Ackroyd somehow in my head) but we are pushing forward to just get unpacked and settled. It seems unending, just like when we were packing to move to begin with. I don't miss the old house whatsoever though which I was worried that I would. That part is good.

So far in the new house, Lanie has already made a friend. She met Caroline, a little girl who lives on the same private drive as us. In fact, the two girls are playing in the family room right now (this is already their 2nd play date in as many days!).

Unix has found a new place to hang out - in the frying pan in the cupboard. That is right - he climbs in there on his own and that is that. We will have to put child locks on the cupboards anyhow, but now we will have to do that sooner rather than later!

Let's see what else we have going on here - BATS! Seriously large numbers of them too... not in the house, but outside. We came home from the pool last night (yes... we have a pool, with a lifeguard, and a playground. Totally cool) and as we were looking up at the stars, I saw one bat after another just flying around eating bugs. We are surrounded by over 50 acres of woods, so there are plenty of bugs here, hence the bats... I can't imagine how many bugs there would be WITHOUT them! There are deer here too as expected, though I have not seen any. I hear they sleep in our back yard though.

The cardinals have been happy eating the food we put in the feeder, and we enjoy watching them come to visit. There is a squirrel guard on the feeder, and it actually works. That is nice! The feeder wasn't emptied as soon as I filled it, which is a nice change.

What else... The house is so big. We get lost in here. I honestly think that we could use an intercom to communicate here. I have never lived in a home this size before, so as exciting as that is, it does take a lot to get used to. I certainly am not complaining, but I will admit that we have had to pinch ourselves a few times since we moved in.

Yes yes, I know everyone wants pictures. I will try my best to get those up as soon as I can. We have been so busy with the move and I get so exhausted so easily these days. I am sadly dreading going back to school, not because I don't enjoy the work, but I lose steam so fast these days that I have a feeling it will be really tough. I am going to set up my rooms starting tomorrow and want to get as much as I can done so I can alleviate THAT anxiety. It is looming overhead right now, and has been something I have not thought much of this summer. I am trying to be better about taking one thing on at a time so I don't get overwhelmed by too much and just quit before I start. With the baby, move, being sick and school stuff, I felt it was smart to only focus on the task at hand, one at a time. That has been a great mental help, let me tell you!

Ok. Time to go and unpack some more... good times ahead!

Moving... 10 days and counting...

So, in 10 days from now, we are set to move to the new house. With any luck, all will go well, and the move will be smooth and easy. I am truly looking forward to this being over and done with, as the whole process is terribly stressful, exhausting, time consuming, and of course, terribly, horribly expensive.

So, I know that I have not been blogging lately. Energy has been lacking terribly lately, and as of yesterday, I hurt my back again, so I am really pretty useless. Luckily, much of the house is already packed, so I am pleased to say that I am not as stressed as I would be if I had procrastinated on packing. Though, I have been packing for months it seems. I am so, so ready to get this stuff out of here and into the new house. Fingers crossed for a smooth move (without the Ex lax ;-) )

Enjoy ;-)

Paying it forward, Karma, Yoga and Peace

So, today I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of the mail. I got a phonecall on Thursday from a photographer named Michael Crane, who I met at Party in the Park. He called to let me know that he would be sending me the CD's of the photos he took from the Michael Franti & Spearhead show on 7/16/09. These are the photos that I have been waiting for, not only because I really enjoy (and have enjoyed for years) Spearhead, but because Lanie was up on stage that night (as I mentioned in my previous blog entry) and I didn't have my camera with me to take photos. Never again, let me tell you! It was pure luck that I was able to get in touch with Michael (Crane) who was kind enough to not ony offer up the photos, but also went back up, erased some of his previous photos because his memory card was full, and took more photos of Lanie and the other kids on stage! Did I mention, that when he refused to take money for the photos? When I asked how much I should send for the CD's, his response was: "The concert was free, the photos are already taken, and I want to keep this free for you too", or something along those lines. Free? FREE? Nobody does anything for free anymore... or do they? Well, let me just tell you - within 5 minutes of entering the concert grounds, a man came up to me and asked if I needed earplugs for Lanie (which I did). They were not selling them on site (which would be a great idea, by the way... maybe I should ask to be a vendor... a cheap one though), so he told me to go and talk to his wife, pointed her out, and said that she had brought extras for kids who needed them. She too would not accept money from me, gave me the earplugs, hugged me, and sayd "Here you go, mama!". Thank you Lisa (I believe that was her name)! Overall, just a really nice party, great music, lots of giving, lots of good juju all around that evening.

What is sad is this - I am always taken aback by such kind acts. People giving without expectation of receiving back. Is this just a New York thing, or is this a normal feeling everywhere? Should that be a normal feeling? I sure hope not - I don't want to feel normal about expecting things in return for kind acts. The whole experience has helped me open my eyes a bit. I know that will of course take time, but hopefully, I have a lot of time! Lots of good karma I hope for all.

So, yoga - this is something I have wanted to do for years. I have been to yoga classes here and there, have loved it every time (except when I went to a class at my former gym - I don't know that the instructor knew what she was doing - I know I didn't know what I was doing!). My favorite team building day when working at Nazareth College was when they had us go to the chapel and take a yoga class for an hour - it was unreal, exhausting, relaxing and refreshing. I don't know why I didn't seek out classes then - probably because I could not afford it. Now that I am home for the summer, dealing with the pains of pregnancy, and working through emotions and life in general, it is time to get off my butt and find yoga. I have been asking around, both duing different Dr. appointments as well as on facebook, and the most suggested yoga venue has been a place called Breathe Yoga and Juice Bar in Pittsford, so I am going to give it a shot. Price is right, place looks nice, and many people have said it is great there. I can't wait!

Links below will take you to the websites of the photographer I spoke of earlier as well as the yoga studio.


http://www.moontroll.com/

http://www.breathe-yoga.com

Lanie on stage

Lanie and her "new friend" Cherine Anderson after the concert

That little person wearing white on the left of the stage is Lanie dancing

Lanie and Michael Franti after the show

Well, seems like we have adventure around every turn lately. As you may have read on my Facebook page, we went to see Michael Franti & Spearhead last Thursday in concert. I took Lanie with me since I knew his music was not aggressive and was so much fun to listen and dance to. At the end of the show, he invited some of the children from the audience up to dance with him for the last song(s) of the night. Lanie was brought up as well and danced her little brains out! She had a blast (as did we watching!). Cherine Anderson (the Jamaican reggae singer who is featured on some of Spearhead's more well known tracks) came over and brought Lanie up on stage, so when you look at the video (it was done by someone in the audience, so no perfect quality, but hey, whatever!), look for the woman in the orange shirt carrying a little girl in a white shirt - that little girl is Lanie!

There were thousands of people in attendance at this show. How cool!

By the way, after the show, Lanie got to meet Cherine Anderson and Michael Franti again and got CD's and Tee shirts. She wore her Cherine shirt every day and night until finally yesterday we got her to take it off - what a riot!




Here is the link to the video (or you can click the title of this blog entry - either way works)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELDB80LDyeg

Life - full of changes

Well - time for change... many, apparently! So, here they are...

We sold our house. We have lived here for over 9 years, and it has been quite an adventure. This was our first home ever, and what a great home it has been. We are glad to know that another family will be moving in and enjoying it as much as we did.

That move, though it is time, will be hard. You never get another First Home I suppose!

But, I think we will get over it!

So, we bought a new home. Well, new to us. It is an O'Brien built home, which is nice. They are known for being very well built and long lasting. It is a large (nearly 2400 sf) home, and is in the perfect (for us) neighborhood. Lots of families, a neighborhood park and a pool club, not to mention that it is on a private cul de sac, so very safe for our kids...

Speaking of kids... we are expecting our 2nd child just after Christmas this year! I have been pretty sick this time, and have not been talking about being pregnant much because unfortunately I caught something called Fifth Disease from my students this year. This is a disease that can cause miscarriage up to 20 weeks, so every day that things go well is a good day. The Dr. thinks things will be fine as long as I can keep my iron up. I think things will be just fine, and I am looking forward to meeting this little jumping bean - at the last ultrasound, the baby was all over the place! Like it was a dance party in my uterus! Goodness...

Well, still not feeling well, so I am going to rest. If I have not called you lately, I promise, I will soon. School is almost out, then we visit the Soo for a week, and I will be better at catching up with my friends after that. Sorry about the distance!

Cheers,
C

No, I have not dropped off the face of the earth

There is so much going on these days, and I have been very bad about keeping up with the blog. Shame on me. I will get back to it soon, especially since I am almost done with school (yay!). Today is Fathers Day though, and I don't want to spend much time on this site, since I should be spending the time with Aubrey instead (and I have to get Dad's gift put together before we go to visit in a few hours). I promise though that I will catch everyone up after today. I just have a few things that I want to tell my dad today that I don't want him to learn through the blog (all good, no worries!)

Tootles!

The Golden Apple Award for Norma

I know that I wrote a while ago about Lanie's teacher Norma. She passed away back in January and left a big hole in all of our hearts. Recently, the daycare was presented with a Golden Apple Award in Norma's honor for being an amazing teacher. It was the first time an award of this kind has been given after the teacher has passed away. Lanie was one of the students who was asked to say something on camera, and she sang her favorite song that she learned from Norma when she was in her room. Please take a look at the link below to see the video of the newscast which aired today at 5:30.

http://rochesterhomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=354131#

New Music if you like Reggae

On our trip last week down to SC and Florida, we were listening to Sirius/XM radio station called 'The Joint' (it is a reggae station - imagine that...) and this song came on called "Dem a Bleach" by Nardo Ranks. Poor kid - I mean really, NARDO? Anyhow, the song is pretty fun and kind of funny too. If you are interested, take a listen -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTWEgiOrSb8

Of course, after hearing that song, we listened to Michael Jackson - Rock With You - speaking of Dem a BLEACH!

Aubrey specifically thought you would enjoy this one Uncle Chris! By the way, when are you guys free to do lunch/dinner at Tantalus? Give us a call/email/blog comment (haha - I'll get you to respond to this thing someday!)

Ok. Off to clean the house and pack to try and get this place ready to sell!

Lanie's TV Debut

Today was a special day. Here in Rochester, one of our local news stations awards teachers who go above and beyond with something called the "Golden Apple" Award. Well, as you know, Lanie's teacher Norma passed away a short while ago, and we all loved her so much. Well, one of the parents at the daycare nominated Norma for the Golden Apple Award, and the station is awarding it to her!

It is the first time a teacher has been nominated for this award after the teacher has passed away.

Lanie was one of the children who was asked to be interviewed because of her relationship with Norma. She even sang her song "Pollito Chicken". It will be aired on May 19th and I will post the link to the video once I have it!

She was very excited. I can't wait to see it!

Peace

How much of our minds do we REALLY use?

I have always said that I can have a useless sense of ESP - I can't tell you what the lottery numbers will be, but I can often finish your sentences, or know what commercial will be on the tv during a break. Today it finally worked in a way that proved to be very valuable.

This afternoon we went to WalMart - the one that we call 'ghetto-mart'. We literally never ever go to this Wal Mart because it is so poorly put together and organized. However, after being unable to quench my need for a good game of pickleball, I convinced Aubrey to go with me to buy tennis rackets and balls to play at the high school (ok, so it is not pickleball, but it is the closest thing we have around here). We would normally go to Target or take the extra drive to the Wal Mart in the next town over, but Target is more $$ than Wal Mart, and I wanted to save some of our hard earned money.

We pulled into Wal Mart and parked on the left side of the large lot - we ALWAYS park on the right side. We went in and found the tennis rackets, tooled around in the camping gear aisle, and finally found a nice little express lane in the back of the store near the automotive section.

We paid for our gear and began to walk towards the front of the store. Suddenly I felt very compelled to look, really look at the people who were in the store. What would the chances be that my sister Loren would also be in the store? For those of you who don't know, she left her apartment two weeks ago today to go to the 'store', but never came home. Anyhow, I felt like I should really look at the people in the store in case one of them might actually be her. It was unlikely that she would be there, but it wouldn't hurt to look. I was looking so intently that Aubrey asked me to watch where I was walking! I wasn't even paying attention. Anyhow, I didn't see Loren. We went out to the car, got Lanie in to her seat, put the stuff we bought in the back and started the car. All of a sudden, Aubrey said "I'm not $h*tting you, it's your sister" and pointed directly in front of us. It WAS Loren. She was parked in the row in front of us and a few cars down. She didn't see us, but we just looked at her. Neither of us knew what to do. I know I was frozen - what should I do? What should I say to her? She saw us finally. I went over to her and hugged her, told her that I love her and that I am glad that she is alive, and that I hope that she takes care of herself.

There are days when I wonder if God hears me, or if God even exists. Could it have been just a fluke that we were both in the same place at the same time? I guess it could be, sure. But, then again, things may happen for a reason after all.

Loren said she would call me this evening. Though I hope that she does, I don't actually expect that she will. I am just glad that I was able to see her and know that she isn't dead somewhere. I know that sounds terrible, but the chances are greater each day she is gone that she would be just that much closer to the end.

If you are wondering, she looked like she had some weight on her, and she was showered and smelled clean. In fact, I don't even recall smelling cigarette smoke on her. Then again, who knows. She didn't look like she was out of her mind on drugs, and that is the positive light that I will hold on to for now.

Ever have a feeling...

That the words that come out of your mouth aren't necessarily the words you meant to say? Or at least that the meaning behind the words wasn't getting across correctly? Well, it occurred to me that I can be pretty negative when I don't necessarily mean to be. As an example, I went to dinner with a dear friend last night and her husband (Aubrey and Lanie were there too), and we were talking about teaching. As you may have noticed from an earlier entry, I was pretty upset about the disrespectful nature of some teachers that I work with. I don't mean to say that ALL teachers are that way, they aren't. I love what I do, a lot in fact. It is just that when I have the chance to actually TALK about some of the more negative things that I experience at work, I REALLY talk about them. That is due largely in part to not having anyone at all to talk to within my own profession. Hard to believe that is true since I work in 6 different schools - you would think that I have a TON of people I could talk to, but I really don't. I am not in one place long enough to really get to know anyone enough to talk to them in that way. So, if you are ever in a conversation with me, and I am coming across as negative, don't take it to heart. I truly love what I do, and I am so so SO grateful to have the job and career that I have.

Ok. I feel better now!

LANIE WROTE HER OWN NAME!

I kid you not, she did this without ANY help - we turned around and she said look - it says Lanie... and sure as the day is long, she DID IT! Man, she isn't even 4 yet. She is unreal!

She even wrote it twice - as you can see from the photos! I am a proud, proud mommy.

Rudeness in education

As a new teacher, I often find myself looking at how the other teachers around me behave. One would think that a teacher would naturally lead by example, and such examples would be good ones. However, I sadly find that many more teachers are not doing this, and are in fact, rather catty, clikish (no idea how to spell that one), and can be downright nasty. That is all too bad.

Here is my pet peeve though....

I am an art teacher. I have art supplies which I need to use in order to teach my students successfully. I expect, that when I walk into my art room, that my supplies will be there. Just as the teachers in the other classrooms would expect that their books, chairs, etc. would be there for their use in the room each day.

So, I went to one of my schools the other day and low and behold, ALL of my glue was gone. Someone 'borrowed' it and didn't return it. I needed it that day and it was gone. Of course, I didn't notice this until it was nearly time for my first class, and I didn't have time to go door to door to ask where the hell it was!

So, finally, I ask one teacher to ask around during her break while I was teaching her class. She found the glue, it was with another 2nd grade teacher. The glue gets returned, and the teacher NEVER even apologized for her mistake! So, on top of that, she was 5 minutes late getting her kids to art, as she FORGOT that they had art that day... not a shocker as she is ALWAYS late, but since I only see the kids once every 6 days for 40 minutes, EVERY minute is golden.

Still no apology...

When I got the glue back, I put it away where it was out of sight. I don't appreciate it when people use the supplies that come out of MY budget without asking at least. If they ask, I know where it is, and I can ask for it back if it is not returned. I had to refill all of the glue bottles DURING my class which took away from teaching time. I also gave this teacher a lot of supplies the previous week for a project that she was asking for help on.. I thought I wwas being nice! I was being used I think.

So, said teacher comes back in to my room and asks if she can borrow the glue again...

still no apology....

takes the glue, comes back later and never even says thank you!

Why don't I say anything about this? Stupid tenior (sp?)... I have to wait until next year for that. Then I can say something.

Aren't politics stupid in that way?

Ok - sorry this was a rant. I wanted to get it out of my head and into the blog... I feel much better now ;-)

Cheers!

Good-Bye Norma. We all loved you so much.

A little after 1 today, I received a phone call at school to tell me that Lanie's favorite teacher at her daycare, Norma, had passed away.

Let me tell you a little bit about Norma. I met her over 3 years ago when she came into the infant room at the daycare where my child goes. She used to come in to visit with the kids, and was always so kind and wonderful with my daughter. Norma truly loved Lanie. I believe that Norma truly loved ALL of the children in her life. She used to tell me (she worked in the 3 year old room) that the hardest part about her job was that she had to wait 3 years before the little ones got to her room!

I remember the day that I found out that Lane would be moving up from the 2's to the 3's room (they separate by age). The day had FINALLY come that Lanie would go to Norma's room! Lanie was so excited, as were we. She learned so much from Norma, and she especially loved learning to speak Spanish from her (Norma was from Puerto Rico).

Norma had an amazing talent with children. Sadly, she was never able to have her own children, and always said that the kids at the daycare were her kids (and she loved them as such). It is such a pity that so many unfit people have children, yet Norma, who would have made a better mother than most women, could not. This broke her heart, but she poured her heart into the kids she worked with each day - work... I have a hard time even saying that... she suer made it look easy.

She told wonderful stories, and sang songs, played games and taught the children to be kind and respectful.

Often times, Norma would show me the artwork that she had done. She was so proud of the flowers she would paint on nails, or the faces she would draw. She practiced so much and so hard, and always was proud to show me. I loved the look in her eye when she would share these things with me. I sure wish I could see it again, though I am sure that she is already watching the art classes I teach, learning more and more about how to do art in heaven. She was already an angel here on earth, so I have no doubt that she is truly an angel now.

We have not told Lanie yet. Tomorrow, they will be telling the children at school, and I will be there for that. Lanie loves Norma, and I don't know how she will take the news.

Norma was 44 years young. She was a friend to us all, a lover of Tinkerbell and of all of her children. I miss her already, and will have her in my heart forever.

Fun on Facebook

I have to admit, I love Facebook. I love the fact that I can find old friends, many family members are on there, and it isn't nearly as 'catty' or childish as MySpace. I don't like the fact that random people can 'befriend' you on MySpace. It seems that Facebook is not a place that you can do that.

Anyhow, if you are reading this, and you don't have a Facebook account, maybe you should give it a shot!

A New Tattoo and One Silly Kitty

When I knew that Ellie was truly nearing the end of her days, I made the decision to try and keep her memory as fresh in my mind as I could. One day, while sitting outside with her on a blanket in the back yard, I made a print of her paw - just a little black ink and some card stock. Nothing fancy. Ellie died later that week. When I had the energy to begin looking, I went to tattoo studios around Rochester to see who could offer me the best options for using this print as a tattoo. So many said that they could take me immediately, and wanted to charge upwards of $150 for a 'custom' tattoo... something to watch for... if someone says they can take you immediately, how custom is it really going to be? Also, $150? For something so small?

Anyhow, I went back to a group of artists that I had checked out many years ago and found exactly what I was looking for. I came across Dawn Kelley's art at Lucky Lotus Tattoo Studio http://www.luckylotustattoo.com/ and knew right away that she was the exact person I wanted for this tattoo. Take a look at her work if you like by clicking on her name above. This was back in September...

Today was the day. Time for the ink! So, I nervously went down to the city to meet with Dawn - I had no idea what she would look like - though I assumed she would be much older and a bit more 'hardcore' based on her work that I had seen... I was really surprised to see how young she was, and how comfortable I was with her! You never know what you will run into at a tattoo studio! She was great. She made me feel very at ease and worked quickly and quite painlessly (as much as possible when you have a needle poking you a zillion times a second...). Before I knew it, she was finished, and when I went to pay for the work, she only charged me $50.00. That is less than I paid for EITHER of my other two tattoos, AND this one was completely custom. I am so pleased that I chose her, and that I have this lifelong reminder of my Ellie with me.

I have another appointment with Steve Shales (also at Lucky Lotus - if I am correct, he owns the studio) this coming March to do some work to cover a tattoo that I got without thinking much about it. I got a tattoo a few years back because I wanted to have something in common with my sister Loren - so I got the same tattoo that she had. It is a simple kanji symbol... one that I have seen on a dozen plus people now. Anyhow, he is a master of cover up work, and I think that I will get something a little more me. At this point, I think that I will have him do a sea turtle - something that we really enjoyed while on our honeymoon in Maui - not to mention, something that was also in the movie Finding Nemo - Lanie's first movie ever that she saw...

On another note... what the heck is wrong with this kitten? You have to understand... I had the time to find my camera case, take the camera out, take the lens cap off, turn the camera on, focus, get close enough and snap TWO photos of her like this... this cat is NOT normal! Totally cute though!

Holiday get together and a visit from Sinterklaas and Fart Piet

I just wanted to share a few photos from a family visit the other weekend. Dad, Paula, Shawna, Garret, Cassie, Zachary and Trevor all came out for dinner and gingerbread house making with Lanie. All of us enjoyed playing a few rounds of Rock Band (who doesn't love that!) but most of all, it was nice to have everyone together. It has been a long while since we had seen everyone!

We also had a get together this past weekend with some of Lanie's closest friends and their parents (our friends!). It is amazing to watch the kids grow up. We have known Lucie since she was only maybe 3 months old, and Anthony when he was maybe 6 months old... The kids were really surprised to receive a visit from Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet (Lanie pronounces it Fart Pete). They didn't actually SEE them come, but before the night was over, the kids found that their shoes had been filled with candy and toys. After all, it WAS December 5th...

I should be putting more photos up on the blog throughout the holidays. We have a number of family events coming up so stay tuned for more!