Highs and Lows (this is a long one!)

Highs:

I have a sub, I have a sub, I have a sub hey-hey hey-hey! I am so excited! You don't knooooowwww what a huge relief this is for me! Plus I really like this lady and she has common sense! Woo-hoo! It's all coming together! Now I can stop writing lesson plans and instructions for a retarded monkey to take over my room...she's a real human, normal , sane woman!

I went back to the Dr. yesterday and he said that Reegan has REALLY dropped and I have REALLY thinned out...he sounded almost surprised about it! (doesn't he do this for a living? nothing should shock him...HMMMM...Is he REALLY a Dr.?)

Koby got a new truck! It's Preeeettttttyyyy! I know I shouldn't say a truck is pretty....its MANLY! (But it really is pretty!) It has some ghetto tires and rims on it, but he's gonna get rid of those. It is definitely a big boy truck. If you're not careful getting out of it you'll fall out!

Lows:

Now onto my terrifying morning. Annie(the older dog) almost killed(no exaggeration) Gus this morning. REALLY I'M NOT KIDDING!

Let me preface this story with the fact that Gus picks and plays at her all the time. To the point that I put tobascco sauce on Annie’s collar the other day so that Gus would quit chewing on it and ripping it off her neck. But Annie is always a good sport about him just being a puppy.

They were out in the back yard playing, I was hauling all of my school stuff to the car, and I heard this horrible screeching wounded animal sound. I just assumed that they had nabbed a cat in the yard, but when it didn't stop in a couple of seconds I went out the garage door to see what was going on. Annie had Gus by the jugular...Gus was upside down on the ground curled up in the fetal position SCREAMING (it sounded like one of Koby's predator calls...it was a HORRIBLE pathetic sound). Annie had the top part of his body lifted off the ground growling as her jaws were clinched tightly in his neck........I immediately start screaming at Annie...nothing....my arms are full of stuff and I drop everything as I am running towards them still screaming....no change Gus is still screaming...not dog sounds....SCREAMING! I get there assuming that when I get close Annie will let go....no change....I drop to my knees in the mud and still yelling at her in the meanest loudest voice I have and try to pry Annie's death grip off of Gus's throat. As I'm sitting there with both hands around Annie's jaw trying to open it with every bit of strength I have(Still yelling at her) All I could think about was what if I'm not strong enough to get her off and she kills him. Koby said later that I should have hit her and she might have let go....but at that point I didn't want ot let go of her top or bottom jaw....I was CERTAIN she would kill him if I lost my grip. It took me a good 30 seconds to pry Annie's jaws apart with my hands (I'm still yelling-Gus is still screaming). I don't know if Annie ever let go or if I just pried her teeth apart enough to get Gus free.

I have never felt so HELPLESS or scared in my ENTIRE 28 year LIFE! There is NOO DOUBT in my mind that if I hadn't been there Gus would be dead.

Anyway, both are still alive. Gus is at my Granddads this morning for supervision. After all that I couldn't just put him in his kennel and HOPE that he was ok and leave for 8 hours.

Annie knew as soon as she let go that she had screwed up (believe it or not that was BEFORE I beat her). I don't know what happened that made her snap like that. Even if Gus did piss her off somehow, she can't just snap! What if she did that to Reegan? I know it's probably not very likely...but what if?

If this morning didn’t put me into labor…nothing will!

My Wonderful Boys!

Gus The Wonder Dog:
This is a really old picture of Gus...actually it's not that old...it was July... he's just grown a massive 30 pounds since then!

Onto my point...Gus is a Champion!

Over the weekend we saw Koby's aunt Janie who breeds and trains really awesome expensive champion dogs. (Rewind: when Koby bought Gus we got some paperwork with him about his blood line, but not all of it. Anyway the guy said that Gus's mom was a Certified Master Hunter and his Dad was a National Field Trial Champion. It all sounded good...we just hoped it was true) They started talking about Gus...yadda, yadda, yadda....ANYWAY, Janie said that if Gus was the dog that they portrayed him to be that some of her dogs would probably be in his blood line. Sooooo we pull out the paper work that we had and there are 5 of Aunt Janie's best, incredible, champion dogs in his family tree, and that's just on his mom's side! Theeeennnn after She insisted that we contact the breeder to get more of his information.....a couple of phone calls later.....we have his dads history, and it's just as great!! Almost every dog on both sides of Gus's family have some sort of championship title....and some are National championships. Oh...they all have something to do with hunting. It's cool!

Like I said Gus is a Champion!!!

Koby has already put pen and paper to it and decided that Gus's net worth is higher than mine, so I now get to sleep in the kennel and Gus gets the bed! Yeah...let's see how well that's gonna work!!!!

So it looks like we might be breeding him. Lets see....we send him off somewhere for a conjugal visit...and we make money....hmmmm....SOUNDS LIKE PROSTITUTION TO ME!!!! Go get 'em Gus!

My Sweet Thoughtful Husband:









(I thought y'all needed 2 pictures!)

Koby gave me an early 'Having Reegan' present. It is a band for the other side of my wedding ring. So, I have my wedding band, engagement band, and now a family band!

He gave it to me on Saturday. He said that with all that was going on that he realized how important 'family' really was and he wanted me to have it early. So of course I'm bawling and about that time all his family walks in the door and is wondering what the big pregnant lady is blubbering about! I proudly and quickly showed them! So I am constantly looking at my hand saying holy s#*t! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! He's the sweetest husband in the world I tell you!

What a weekend...

Koby's Dad passed away Friday night. Prayers were answered that when the time came he was able to go peacefully in his sleep. 5 of the 6 siblings were present and accounted for when he passed (the last one was contacted but wasn't there by choice). It was nice that they were all able to be right there in his final hours.

And so began the long weekend...it is always emotionally exhausting when someone dies, then add 3-4 days of company(trying to play "The Good Hostess" a little bit), then the 8+ months of pregnancy. Even so, I am still not as tired as Koby is from just being emotionally exhausted.

There were lots of Doc's old friends from Seminole at the funeral, and lots from Robert Lee. Seeing all those people there reminds me what a good man he was. There were also LOTS of Koby's friends at the funeral...many who drove a long way to be there. Some were old friends, college friends, new friends, people he works with, people he does business with, etc. Many of them didn't know Doc or had just met him a few times....they were all there for Koby. THAT makes me proud of my husband! It warms my heart to know that people think so much of Koby that they would travel hours and hours to be there for him during this time.

Now it's just a matter of time before the reality of it all settles in. For me it probably won't be until we all meet back out at Doc's house Labor Day weekend to....well...do the things you do when someone is gone...and get the house ready to sell. I can't imagine what Koby is feeling.

Reegan is doing fine. I think it is irritating her that she has grown so much that she is out of room, so she just kicks harder! Sleeping is difficult...real difficult. Either she is being a busy body, or I have to pee, or I'm hot, or I can't get comfortable...and when everything finally comes together where I can catch a few winks...I have to pee again! Oh well! 3 1/2 weeks left and no purple streatch marks to speak of (yet! knock-knock-knock).

The Doc's

I went to the Dr. yesterday and through his little laugh he said "no baby yet"! Apparently my cervix is VERY long, hard, and it too is curled up in the fetal position! He said maybe the week of Sept 12 - 15 but if everything looks the way it did yesterday it would be the week of the 19-22. He has promised me that he won't let me go past the 24th! I am pretty sure he understands the repercussions of breaking a promise like that!

On the other side of that....my body and physical exhaustion is telling me that I am ready to have her....but the rest of me....isn't quite ready. OKAY, hear me out! I have so much to do between now and then; finishing her room, redoing her closet, putting all her new stuff away and together, writing thank you notes, finding a sub, writing lesson plans, finishing the school website, etc. .....along with the fact that I am scared to death and have no earthly idea what to do with a baby and keep thinking that if I procrastinate having her (HA!) that I will get everything done AND be able to read my "Babies for Dummies" book so that I don't screw her up!.......Ah-Ha.....maybe there is the truth....I'm afraid that I don't know what I'm doing and that I'll screw her up.

If I ALREADY can't get all my stuff done...will that make me a bad teacher, wife AND mother? Right now I can pretty much choose if I want to be a bad teacher or wife on certain days (by what gets pushed to tomorrows To-Do list) ....but I have to be a good mom...and that will take up twice as much time....so am I doomed at being a good teacher and wife? I KNOW, I KNOW there are TONS of people that do it all the time...I just haven't figured out how I AM GOING TO DO IT. I am probably worrying over nothing......

Now onto the other Doctor in my life, my father in law. He is constantly in my prayers throughout the day. He health is diminishing week by week. He HAS had a good life, he HAS helped a lot of people, and he HAS been a great dad, granddad, and father in law! I can't imagine what he is physically, emotionally, and spiritually going through. I just think that MY talks with God about it are long...I can't imagine his...or even Koby's. It makes me want to put up a GIANT billboard and BEG people not to ever, Ever, EVER pick up a cigarette! It is a huge blessing that Doc is sleeping as much as he is....and I continue to pray that he will peacefully go to Heaven during that time. I do REALLY hope that if it is God's will, that he will have the opportunity to meet Reegan....but I also know how much he is suffering now and I could never selfishly pray for that to continue...

Things I Know.....

• I know that I was REALLY tired after the first day of school
• I know that my classroom air conditioner use to be set on 79...Now it's on 72! It's great!
• I know that I am tired of being pregnant...It's been ok until now...But I'm ready to be done!
• I know that I really do like my job
• I know that my favorite student that I taught in 4th grade is now coming to Christoval and is in High School (yeah-yeah I'm not suppose to have favorites!)
• I know that a 17 year old girl is getting induced today and says she'll be back at school by the end of the week. She didn't get induced yesterday because she didn't want to miss the first day of her Senior year!
• I know that I want to die in my sleep....NOT NOW....but when the time comes...I think everyone should get to go to heaven that way.
• I know that high school kids are tootier than middle school kids...and they are always right!
• I know that I don't like leaving Gus in his kennel all day long...but I don't know what else to do with him when it is 100 degrees outside...And he's a digger....I like my yard....
• I know that I have no IDEA who my sub will be when I'm out
• I know that apparently the more free time you have the more $ you spend...according to OUR account anyway
• I know that I should blog more often
• I know that there is a lot to do between now and September 15!
• I know that Koby cooked a wonderful dinner last night ...and the best part was I didn't have to stand on my fat feet and do it!

Hello Everybody!

Wow! Where did the summer go! Teachers start back on Monday, and the students come the next Monday. I can't believe it!

Koby and I have started baby classes. It's kind of a 'Having a Baby 101' Class. Which I need! Last night was our second class. We watched an X rated video of a delivery, saw all the 'tools' that get used during birth, and toured the labor and delivery floor. Is it too late to change my mind about all of this?.....yeah, I thought so. I really am glad to know all of the stuff that they are telling us....I've always done better (in any situation) if I knew what to expect....but...it still doesn't sound like much fun. I know....I know....everyone says it will all be worth it...and I am SURE that it will be....it's jsust getting there that sounds not so fun.

Gus(the puppy) is growing like a weed! He was 27 pounds when we got him a month ago, and he has gained 20lbs since then! He's gonna be a big dude! He sits, fetches, heals on a leash, and kind of stays. One of his favorite things to do lately is to take everything out of his toy basket and kennel one at a time! It winds up being strung out all over the house and he is so proud of himself!

Koby's dad is about the same. Hospice has started visiting him. It is hard to talk about, much less type. No one should have to loose both of their parents before they are 30. Doc has had lots of visitors of family and friends, which wears him out, but he's glad to see everyone. It's always nice to know that there are people around that care!

Prayer Request....

We just found out today that Koby's Dad has terminal lung cancer. Without treatment life expectancy is at most a couple of months, with treatment about a year. As of right now Doc does not plan on having any treatment. The cancer is larger than grapefruit size and has also made it's way into his heart.

I'm not expecting that our prayers will in anyway cure him, but if you don't mind please pray for strength and peace..........

Thanks

I really am still alive....REALLY!!!

WOW what a month! I have tons of pictures that I'll have to post later (yes I promise I'll post them!)

Let's start with all the N*E*W things in my life:

*I have a new car! It's a Mercury Mountaineer. I LOVE it! It's white, leather, still has the third row seat but when your not using it, it folds flat into the floor....and it might get better gas mileage than my Tahoe!

*We are the official owners of "5 Star Outfitters" and will have a website in the next week that is http://5staroutfitters.com . Whitetail and turkey hunts seem to be selling well and we have an exotic hunt in 2 weeks. Hats and T-shirts will be here in about a week! I just KNOW that you are all going to want one!

*We have a new puppy! Just what we need ...right?!?!?! He is a 14 week old yellow lab named Gus. As much of a handful as he is....he is a sweetheart. With some common sense he is 99% house trained........and in about a year he will quit chewing! Really, he's not bad about that either....he has plenty of toys and bones, and sticks to chewing on them. Even so I'm pretty sure he's going to grow up thinking his name is NO!

Other highlights:

My Belly is now bigger than Koby's! On the 15th I will be 7 months. Everything is going great! She's running out of room to wiggle. I'm trying to teach her that my ribs are not monkey bars! I'll let you know when that works!! I'm still on track on the amount of weight my Dr. said to gain(unless I keep eating brownie mix like I did last night!), and I have another appointment later this week. After this appointment I start going every 2 weeks to the Dr.

Koby painted her room last week! It's so cute it is kind of an apple green. We also got her furniture in (Dresser, chest of drawers, and bed) last week. It looks so good! It's all becoming real now! And kinda scarry.......

My mom and I went to a wedding last week and found some wonderful baby shops with their summer stuff 50% off! Reegan will be well clothed for next summer! Koby swears that she already has more clothes than he does.......but he's not a growing girl!!!!!

9 1/2 weeks to go!.......hopefully that's all!

Is it really summer?

It looks like summer, and it is sure hot enough to be summer....but teachers aren't suppose to work MORE in the summer!

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy around here. I have been working on some pretty time consuming stuff for my mom's office....that seems to have no end!

There is a big 3 day Festival on the Concho this weekend. I am also running the talent show(which is almost over. we had prelim's tues and thurs and the finals are tonight...woohoo!) and am part of the riverstage concert crew(there's only about 10 of us!). We have 3 bands for Fri night and 4 for Sat including Reckless Kelly and Robert Earl Keen. We are expecting over 1,000 ppl for Fri night and at least 1,500 for Sat night. Needless to say all of this has been a lot of work! I think it will all be a lot of fun.....but I am honestly ready for it to be over!

Did anyone think about the fact that it's sweaty outside in the middle of June!

I'll write more next week when the circus leaves town!

Random Thoughts (What else do you have the last week of school)

* Apparently my TV remote was tired of being homebound...because it somehow made it to school with me today...instead of my cell phone!

* My belly button ring is officially out, and other than the initial shock of doing it, it hasn't been traumatic (I didn't get instant wrinkles or gray hair or anything).

* I am sooo excited that there are only 2 days of school left (1/2 days at that)....but...why am I that excited since I am coming back to work on computers for the next few weeks...so it's not REALLY the end...

* Tomorrow I will not only be 28 years old, but Reegan will be 24 weeks, which means she has reached viability! Yeah for us!

* It makes me smile to walk into the teacher bathroom and the water still be blue from Sammy cleaning it yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure if it's that I just like a clean toilet, or that I was the first one to use it!

* All of the things about restless uncomfortable nights that my pregnancy books talk about, came true last night! By 1:27 when I was getting up to pee for the 4th time I KNEW it was going to be a long night! Then came Reegan fighting or dancing with her umbilical cord(it's the only explanation I know of!), then came the numb hands, then the leg cramps, then the hot flash....by about 5:20 I deemed my good night of sleep hopeless and just prayed to catch a wink or two. (maybe that explains why the TV remote came to school today...who knows I could write a book about it's adventures....EEEkkk that's the sleeplessness talking!)

* Taking both your grandparents to the Doctor is undeniably comparable to being on the Jerry Springer show. (hmmmm, weeerrrreee there hidden cameras?)

* Only in a small school do you have to hunt a teacher down at their house to come back to school and give their patiently awaiting class a final exam!

* Last but not least please add a friend of mine to your prayer list. 2 weeks ago she had a grapefruit sized mass removed from one of her ovaries...come to find out it was cancer. After further testing she will have a full hysterectomy, and go through chemo (a type that she will certainly loose her long beautiful hair). Not only is the cancer hard for her and her husband to deal with but the extra blow of being 26 years old and not getting the awesome opportunity to bear her own children.

Lot's to say, and little time to say it.

The end of school is always so hectic! I know I've said that before but it really is! Things are wild around here! On top of everything else I have eight seniors in my room scrambling to finish a paper that is apparently due by 3:00!!!!

Let's see...the event of the day yesterday is that my mom achieved one of her life long dreams. That's right ladies and gentlemen she got her tattoo (WARNING: picture below may be inappropriate for small children). The name of the tattoo place was Electric Voodoo...yeah really! One of the guys that works there, Dean, came highly reccomended...yeah really! The darling tattoo is on the inside of her right ankle. At least it isn't on the outside of that ankle since that is her pew ankle...ok long story...she sits on the end of the pew at church and it is her right ankle that faces toward the aisle...it's her pew ankle...and in my educated opinion you should not get a tattoo on your pew ankle! We all know how I feel about tattoos so I of course think it is a little large...but the 55 year old woman loves it...so I guess it's ok.

In other news: My sweet husband always knows how to make me smile! He went to a furniture store in Brady yesterday to look at a round crib for Reegan. I have always LOVED round cribs, I think they are soooooo sweet! They look like little a little princess bed! Koby went and priced it and took pictures of it for me! The best part is that we haven't talked about this in months...and he actually REMEMBERED! Isn't he just so thoughtful! The bad news is that they are so insanely expensive...then the round bedding on top of that(when you can find it) is just as outragious!!!! We're going to do the regular crib and save the $$ for something else. I have no doubt that her room is going to be precious no matter what...especially when she's in it!

In case anyone was wanting another belly picture...here they are!

All work no play? I THINK NOT!!!!

When I came back to school this morning I realized that I hadn't been here since 9:30am on Tuesday the 9th! Yes you heard me right, I haven't been at school in almost a week! It's been great! Back to the grinding board for 2 more weeks. I have to keep telling myself that I CAN do this! It shouldn't be too bad since the last 3 days of school we are out at noon! I think I'm more excited than the kids!

The end of school is always so chaotic! It's even more chaotic this year because I can't concentrate on anything that I should be doing because all I can think about is baby stuff! I'm pretty much just on cloud 9...and it seems that very little work gets done on cloud 9!

Ohhh by the way. Our little bundle of joy's name is Reegan Grace Howell. Isn't that just the sweetest! We are so excited! It is all finally becoming more and more real! Now we're starting to plan out her room. I'll post a pic of the bedding soon. I think that my father in law is going to help out buying the baby furniture. We are VERY grateful for that!!!!! He's coming in town next weekend for us to go shopping! YEAaaahhhh! I feel like things are finally coming together...and only 17 1/2 more weeks until Reegan's here (give or take a little...but not too much!)!!!!!

Guess What.........

She's a Girl, She's a Girl, SHE'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO Doubt about it! She has an innie!

Koby and I are sooooo excited!

More later............

3 more weeks of school!

Prom was so much fun Saturday night! That is one thing I miss is getting to dress up for an event...yes it's a pain having to go find the perfect dress or tux...but it's just so much fun playing dress up! It was neat being able to see some of my kiddo's all dressed up, corsages on, impeccable makeup, and smiling from ear to ear! Oh yeah, Koby and I danced! It was fun!

it is 10:45 and the water is still off at school this morning. It's becoming a real issue with this pregnant girl! I guess it's kind of like an indoor porta-potty! I don't mind peeing on top of my own pee (or even someone in the fam's), but going on top of someone elses or LOTS of someone else's....eeeewwww!!!
UPDATE: it is almost 3:00 and we still don't have water...Buuuuuttttt...our Ag teacher has brought his class over EVERY period with 5 gallon buckets of water(obviously from down the road somewhere) to pour in the toilet tanks so that we could flush them! Noone even asked him to. I thought it was very thoughtful of him and all of his students that were willing to do it! Thanks guys!

The baby is moving around a lot more lately and Koby can even feel it moving now! I was laying in bed the other morning and mashing around on my stomach and I felt a leg! I touched it and it immediately moved and kicked me! It was the weirdest thing!

Okay. I am 21 1/2 weeks now(almost 5 months) and we are still calling this baby an it! We go Wednesday @ 2 for the "Moment of Truth" sonogram and have the Dr.'s appt right after at 3:20. So HOPEFULLY we will be able to find out what 'IT' is!

So the question is what do you think 'IT' is, a boy or a girl?

If you haven't commented on a blog lately here's a refresher course. At the end of this blog it says a number and then the word Comments. Click on that ... Then, a new page comes up. On the right hand side of the page type your comment in the box.

If you have a login and password place the radial button on 'blogger' and sign in.

If you don't have a user name and password click the radial button beside the word other, then just type in your name and click publish! It's that easy!

I am sooooooooo excited to find out what we are having!!!!! YEAAAAaaaaahhhhh! Spread those legs little darlin' we need to get a good look!

Crawling out of bed is harder than it use to be...

I can't decide why getting out of bed is so difficult....is it because I haven't been able to work out lately so I don't have the energy, is it because it is getting close to the end of school and I'm just getting lazier, or is could it possibly have something to do with my waist going from 27" to ...an undisclosed number?

I am so excited about school being out on the 26th! I guess I am most excited about getting things done this summer. I'll be able to workout every day (if the Dr. releases me), lay out, do lesson plans, swim, work on the babies room, cook....ok...well, yes...to the untrained eye these things don't really look like 'getting things done'...but these are things I enjoy doing and feel a sense of accomplishment after doing!! Therefore, I deem them important!!

I've been selling Prom tickets this week since it is this Saturday night. High school boys just amaze me sometimes! I have told several boys(with a smile!) "I realize that it is the last day to buy tickets and you forgot enough money to buy you AND your date a $4 ticket....borrow some money from a friend...you invited her, don't you think you should buy her ticket too?!?" (Side note: I only said that to students who were so irresponsible not to bring $ today, never to a student who might possibly not have the $). Some of the boys hung their head, a little ashamed that I had to say it(knowing that their mothers would have said the same thing), others it was a light bulb moment...like their brains were saying 'what a great idea'!!!

It is days like this that I question even more than normal(if that's possible) what would EVER possess a teacher to date a student! If anyone has read the San Angelo paper lately, this just happened at a school about 15 miles from town! ...Coming to a town near you, child predators!

Finally a new blog!

I haven't blogged in a week. I think that is a new record for me! The last week has been kind of crazy at school with all the end of the year stuff....regional golf, organizing pictures for the seniors, regional track, ARD's out the waa-zoo, meetings over this and that....I've just been trying to keep it all together.

Within the last week or so we have decided that we are going to have a garage sale Mothers Day weekend. They are always so hard to put together...but I never regret it in the end ($$$$). This means that I have done lots of cleaning out lately. It is amazing the crap that I keep! Most of it was already boxed up and earmarked for a garage sale. But then there is some of it that is still just hanging out around my bedroom like it belongs there! Uuuucccckk, why do I hold on to some things?!?!

My mother would like me to write about her getting a tattoo...but really I don't think she wants to hear what I have to say about it(sorry mom). I guess I'm not with the rest of the fam' on this...tattoo’s just aren't my thing...mainly when they are in a very visible area. Yes I know that I have my eye liner tattooed on (here we go!)...but that decision was made because one way or another I would have worn eyeliner the rest of my life. I won't ever regret that decision, and no one even knows that it is a tattoo. I won't however draw a picture on my bicep or ankle everyday for the rest of my life! I guess that is my REAL issue with it...will there come a day that you would ever regret that decision? Will there come a day when you get all dressed up, but the tattoo (in a visible spot) dresses you down so much that it wasn't worth the effort?

Koby likes the look of the tribal tattoos across the small of a girls back....and yeah I guess they look ok when you are 21...but what happens 10 years, 2 kids, and 30 pounds later....is it still cute(in it's stretched out state) or just a tacky thing you did when you were young? That would be my luck...me at the pool with the kids exposing my tattoo with stretch marks throughout it....claiming that I had to pay extra to get it to look like that!

OFF THE SOAP BOX!

Have you heard the latest news about The View....Rosie O'Donnell was announced to take Meredith's place.........hmmmm......I plead no comment.

Some of our kids have been joking about 2 of our teachers that are out today (who happen to be hispanic) that they are taking advantage of the "Mexican Skip Day"!!! :) They're not....but it IS funny!

Did anyone see Desperate Housewives last night? I'm not sure if it's hormones or what but I bawled when they took Gabrielle's baby away!

Does Size Really Matter?

It's another Monday morning. The only thing that got me going this morning was thinking there are only 4 more weeks of school....WRONG....there are 5 more weeks....grumble, grumble. Oh well, we still have one bad weather day and our last 3 days are only 1/2 days anyway since we have finals!

2 weeks and 2 days until we can find out what this little banana fish is. It gets old calling it an 'IT'.

This whole no exercising thing is making my butt big...ok so maybe it is really the eating part that is making my butt big! I'm just hungry all the time. It is a good thing that I like fruits, vegetables, and yogurt otherwise I'd be a whale already!

I am growing out of some of my smaller maternity clothes so I decided to wear a new skirt today. It's pretty cute-right above the knee length denim with some embroidery on it. I took 2 tags off of the skirt and assumed that I was done (YEP, you see where this is going don't you!). I guess at 6:45 I didn't inspect the garment as properly as I should have because 2nd period (oh yes I had already walked around the school and gone through 1st period) one of my girls said "Mrs. Howell, I think you still have a tag on your skirt!"....OH YES I DID! It couldn't have been just a little price tag hanging out from under my shirt, it was the long stick on tag that boldly tells what size the skirt is about ten times!!! I guess that the up side is that in most maternity clothes I wear a small....at least it wasn't XX-LARGE plastered across my butt!

An Easter to Remember

Ok...my grandmother has never really been the comedian of the family. I'm not sure that she really intended to be this weekend, but she definitely stole the show! We all sat down for a lovely Easter lunch. We ate, talked, ate, laughed, and ate some more. Between dinner and dessert my grandmother proclaimed that she had an announcement!

(PAUSE: let's remember her condition shall we....she's 82 years old, on 24/7 oxygen, not real stable on her feet, incontinent often, and has Alzheimers. About a year ago we took all of her panties away and put depends in her panty drawer so that when she messed all over herself we could just throw them away. At the time she didn't even realize that we had done it, or just didn't care.)

Back to the announcement.... She stood up and declared that while the whole family was at their house over New Years for their anniversary, someone stole her panties and she wanted them back!

(PAUSE: She's told us this before. She has actually called each family member previously and accused them of taking her panties....the scary part is that a couple of us have honestly confessed to her and she doesn't remember that either! We might as well tell her it was Colonel Mustard in the ballroom with the candle stick!)

As she is making her announcement she stands up and says. "Until someone confesses and brings me my panties, or y'all take up a collection to buy me new panties this is what I am wearing!"

SHE IS WEARING MY GRANDDADS UNDERWEAR! YES....she REALLY is! I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye at the table from laughing so hard! Is this the appropriate time to discuss table etiquette! DON'T DROP TROU AT THE DINNER TABLE GRANNY!

All of this never even phased my granddad. I think he is so use to her....oddness...lately that he doesn't even pay attention! Kind of like when she feeds their birds scrambled eggs. He says nothing, and cleans all of the eggs out of their cage later. Granny, birds don't like to eat eggs, that’s cannibalism!

Getting to see everyone, and the kids is always a highlight. However, this Easter will always be remembered as the one when granny dropped trou!