Midweek Confessions

Here are my Midweek Confessions...
~ This past weekend I was terribly sick with what I thought was "food poisoning." I had purchased ribs from the grocery store and within 6 hours of eating them I got sick. Yet, Will did not get sick until today. So, now were thinking we caught the stomach flu. I am really hoping that Harper will be fine, since I have been disinfecting everything in the house.


~ I had a bottle leak the other day in the diaper bag which ended up "almost" ruining my new blackberry. My phone would not turn on and was not working. So, I decided to try the "rice" trick and see if it worked. Which it did! :) The only problem was that I only had Uncle Ben's seasoned rice which does not smell that great. So, now my phones smells of this stinky rice. I have even caught myself wondering that smell is while on the phone. Hopefully the smell disappears over time or people may start to think I smell like seasoned rice. 

~The other day while shopping it hit me how old I have gotten. It is so funny how clothing stores kinda show your age or maturity level. See, I used to love to shop at Express but now the only thing I buy there is jeans. I feel that if I wore some of their clothes people would think I was trying to act too young. Now days, my favorite store is Ann Taylor Loft. I think this shows my age , since I would not had bought their clothes while in college. I guess being a mom has aged me a little bit. 

~ I am really looking forward to this Mother's Day weekend. We are travelling to my hometown to visit with my family. My brother Brandon and sister-in-law Anne are going to meet Harper for the first time. So, it will be a special weekend. 

~ This week I keep thinking about my students and Prom. This is the very first year that I have not been a part of Prom. Earlier this year I helped plan, decide on the theme , choose the food and even bought all the decorations. However, since I am on maternity leave I do not get to decorate and be at the event. This is one thing that I am really going to miss. It is always so fun to watch your students all dressed up and having a good time.Hopefully, I will get to see photos of the event
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~ I feel like I am already a "helicopter" parent. If someone other than me is taking care of Harper and I hear her crying I always run right to her to make sure she is fine (which she always is). Will gets frustrated with me on this topic. He is really a great dad and loves to help out all he can when he is home. So, when he is feeding or changing a diaper he does not want me to interfere. This is one thing I really need to change or I may become one of the those annoying parents I did not care for during my teaching days. :/


~ Now link up and tell us your confessions~

Midweek Confessions

~ I have a pretty big confession this week. Will and I have decided that I will not be returning to teaching. With Will traveling so much and not having family near we feel that it is very important for me to be home with Harper. I have loved teaching the last 5 years and will never forget many of my wonderful students. It is so funny how things change when you have a little one.

~ I am also starting a new career. I will be working from home for my father-in-law for his marketing company.  Tom (my father-in-law) owns an embroidery, screen-printing, and promotional products company which I will be helping him run from my home. So, if you need any of these products please email in the contact section of my blog and I will give you details on how to buy products from me.

~ I really enjoy all the help I have received from my family. However, one night last week Will and I went out with some friends  to come home to a sleeping baby who decided to stay up for 4 hours straight that night. Reason this happened is that these sweet family members did not wake Harper at all that night instead, they just held her and let her sleep. See we have a BIG routine in the evenings. We always try to keep Harper up at least 3 hours starting at 9 or 10 so we can get a good 4-5 hours of solid sleep before her next feeding. Since, this routine did not happen she was off schedule and stayed up later in the night or should I say morning. So, I was not happy.

~ We are taking Harper to Bermuda with my family in June for my parents 35 Wedding Anniversary. Since, my  whole family will be there we are not worried about traveling with her since we will have help. However, right now we are waiting on a correction on her birth certificate because whoever submitted Harper's Vital Records at the hospital put down Will as "Will" instead of his legal name "William." So, we are waiting for that to come corrected so we can get her a passport. So , this has been frustrating for us.

~ Yesterday, I took my 4runner to our local Firestone to get my oil changed. When I went to pick up my car they told me that my tires were worn out and I needed 4 new ones. Now our problem is what we are going to do with my car. Since, we do travel a lot we are concerned we will need more space in a vehicle. For example, when we travel we will have Lilly, her crate, Harper's pack-n-play, stroller, our two golf bags, and all of our luggage. So, we have a lot to squeeze into a car. We are trying to decided if we should pay for new tires or just trade in my car for a bigger SUV or van. Cannot believe I just said van but it is pretty practical and nice.

~ Will is taking us to the beach this week and I am so excited but nervous on how we are going to do with a 5 hour drive and getting all our stuff down there. So, I will let you know about that tomorrow!

Thanks for reading my confessions.. I feel much better :)

Now tell it is your turn..

Finishing My School Year & Prom Planning

This week, I  have been busy getting everything ready for my departure from work. I teach on average 155 students. My classes range from Advanced Placement World History to co-taught World History.

I teach from 1500 AD to Present Day World History

The past 4 years, my classes had a really high success rate on our state test, the Standards Of Learning, in World History. The first 3 years, my students had a 100% pass rate and our school ranked number 1 in the state for their test scores. Last year, they gave a new test and my classes had a 98% pass rate making it still the highest in the county and one of the highest in the state. Overall, I take my current job very serious, since this test shows how well I teach my students.

Last year, I was given the task of taking over the Advance Placement course in World History. I attended a week long course in Williamsburg, Va on how to teach AP. I really enjoyed this new challenge.  However, that all changed when we realized that we were having a little one. Currently, I am in the process of finalizing all my plans for each of my classes through the end of the school year.( FYI: I have been given permission to take the rest of the school year off and enjoy my time with Harper). I want to make sure that my long term substitute is able to come into my classes, keep the same pace, and use the same plans I use everyday. I do not want my students to suffer this year with me leaving in the next 3 weeks. However, being over prepared for any circumstance, I have everything planned out from today until June 9, the last day of school. I have even created daily calendars so my substitute knows what exactly to teach on any given day.

I thought this was a cute cartoon :)

The other task, I have been busy working on this week is planning our high school's Prom. Yes, I am in charge of Prom even though I will not be present at the event. This is something that I have enjoyed doing the last few years. My good friend and work colleague, Elizabeth and I were co-chairs the last 3 years. However, she had baby Sam last July and decided to not take on the task of Prom this year. Since, we were having some difficulty having a little one I decided to go ahead and find a new co-chair and head up Prom again. Little did I know, 3 weeks after I signed my commitment form to chair Prom, I would find out we were pregnant. However, I love this event and have enjoyed planning it again this year. Our Prom is like no other. We have it a 4 star hotel called The Hotel Roanoke. Prom is pretty much like a mini wedding minus the bride and groom, of course. We have it at the main ballroom complete with a sit down dinner and table decorations  Every year, we decide on a Prom theme and try to incorporate it into the ballroom in a classy non Prom like way.

Hotel Roanoke

 Below are some of our previous Proms. ( These photos are courtesy of my friends blog E,Myself, and I who I co-chaired Prom with the last three years)

Prom 2010: A Knight in the Big Apple 

( Our school's mascot is the knight so, we have to use the word knight in the theme)

A Knight in the Big Apple

City Background

Buffet Table with Apple Centerpieces

Floral Centerpieces

Elizabeth and I .. Going to miss Prom this upcoming year

Prom 2011: Theme: Shanghai Knights

A Knight in Shanghai

Pagoda ..Entrance to Prom

Pagoda Centerpieces

Floral Centerpieces

Overview of ballroom

Students Dancing the Night Away..

Prom 2012: A Knight In Hollywood

This year, the Junior Class decided on the theme: A Knight in Hollywood. I have already bought all the decorations, confirmed the DJ, photographer, and decided the menu for dinner.

Below is what this years Prom is going to look like. Since, I will not be there I am going to show you what I have envisioned for this event.

A Knight In Hollywood

Invitation to Prom 2012

Entrance to the ballroom

Hollywood Clipboard Centerpieces

Feather Centerpieces

Red Lanterns Over Dance Floor

I think that Prom is going to be a hit again this year with the Juniors and Seniors. I just hope that someone shows me photos of how the event turns out.