Wedding Madness!

Downtown mall in Charlottesville
Saturday night

I finally got out of the house today to go suit shopping with Christopher. This was an exciting adventure for me because I've been stuck in the house since Thursday night. Chris, on the other hand, has been able to go to work and took the above photo outside his restaurant last night.

We found suits for the guys today at Jos. A. Banks. Now all we need to do is get everyone fitted and get them ordered by the weekend. We also had a chance to stop by the automated postage machine and get a boatload of stamps so that I could stuff the invitations. I sat and completed 88 tonight so that tomorrow I can take one in and weigh it and get postage for the outside. I'm sure it will be a hefty bill to send them out but they're so beautiful it seems to make it less stressful. :-)

Since school is cancelled AGAIN for tomorrow, I'm also hoping to take my rehearsal dinner dress to get tailored and make an appointment to take in my gown. I will feel much better once I get my things fitted. There is still SO much stuff to do; these snow days are the pits for the summer but are proving to be SUPER helpful now since we're getting into crunch time with the wedding. Let's just hope I can actually meet with the florist on Wednesday - our appointments have already been cancelled twice due to snow!

COUNTDOWN TO MORGAN
6 DAYS!!

Blizzard in the South

Sad, bent-in-half tree number one.

The snow will not stop falling. It just keeps coming and coming and coming. It is not light fluffy snow. It is wet, heavy snow.

Yesterday I shoveled our driveway twice. Being a "northerner" I'm dead set on keeping up with shoveling. I know I shouldn't shovel because of my arthritic elbows, but Christopher had to go to work. Plus, if we get the 20 plus inches we're supposed to get, we'll never be able to get to our house EVER AGAIN.

We woke up this morning and it is still coming down. We have probably another six inches from what we had last night. Christopher is out shoveling the driveway right now. All we do is SHOVEL. I refuse to go out today while he's home from work. :-) He gets angry with me for shoveling anyway because of my elbows so I suppose I'll let him have this round all to himself.

Thank goodness we have the Jeep. During the December 19th storm our only 4WD vehicle was in the shop. We couldn't get ANYWHERE. Christopher was able to get to and from work last night which is a blessing in itself. The restaurant is packed on snowy nights because most places shut down and there are so many houses within walking distance.

We currently have a tree leaning against our house. Poor buddy is at about a 90 degree angle and just laying there. Yesterday my neighbor told me that someone called him frantic because a huge cedar had snapped and fallen on her heat pump. What in the world? THIS IS VIRGINIA.

Poor buddy - he's a goner.
The mound of snow on the right used to be bushes that reached up to my window.

Today I think I will lie in bed and read. I got over 60 invitations addressed yesterday so I feel on the ball. I really wish I had postage so I could start to stuff them, but oh well - thus is life.

Happy snowstorm to everyone! Stay safe and warm. :-)

A Sneak

I nixed the "M" on the line. That M drives me bonkers.

Just write your name for goodness sake.

While the impending doom is falling from the sky, I thought I would share just a PEEK of the excitement that arrived at my doorstep yesterday. I received both my rehearsal dinner dress and the invitations. The dress is WAY too big, but I suppose that's why they make tailors. Christopher says he really likes it and the photos don't do it justice at all. :-) It looks very "bridal" - currently it looks like I'm drowning in bridal - but that's ok.

I also received a HUGE box with all of my invitations. Have I mentioned lately my love for my Aunt Cammy? They are GORGEOUS. I am so so so excited to get them sent out. It made my belly do a little flip to read the invite; it's so formal sounding! They really are "Kristi" looking. I promised Stephanye I would get hers sent out to Israel ASAP so I'll be working on that today. I've basically been confined to the house for the next several days so I will have time to address all the envelopes. Morgan will be here next week and she can help me stamp and mail. WOOHOO.

The national weather service is now saying Charlottesville is scheduled to get between 20 and 30 inches of snow, with over 30 inches in localized areas. I MOVED TO THE SOUTH FOR A REASON. This is the pits. It's really pretty now, I'll have to take a picture of my backyard, but in a few hours it's going to be a disaster. I should probably take some painkillers, ice up my arthritic elbows and go out and clean my tunnel to the road every few hours. I absolutely cannot shovel two feet of snow again in one fell swoop.

I'm Turning into Daddy...

I am becoming my father. Now, in general this is not a bad thing. My dad is my best friend and I love him more than life itself - really I do. But today... today I am cursing his name.

Daddy has always been an early riser. Just woken up for no reason and then decided to stay up instead of lying in bed staring at the ceiling. Mama and I think he's crazy because we can both sleep until 11:30 if no one disturbs us. And then this morning, BAM. 4:30 am. I am wide awake.

I got up, got some water, used the bathroom, stretched. Laid back down and nothing. I tossed, I turned. Nothing. So, in the spirit of my father, I got up and did some work. It is now 10 after 7 - still earlier than I usually get up for work. I've already called Daddy and given him a piece of my mind. Turning out like him would be a blessing - but this sleep thing he can keep all to himself...

I Win!

We had another day off school today due to snow and icy conditions. My kids are going to be so off-kilter when we get back tomorrow. And then we will most likely have off on Friday because we have another huge storm coming through tomorrow evening. Between Thursday night and Saturday we are supposed to receive 12-18" or more. Seriously, I can not be snowed in this house one more day. I have cabin fever... We live in the SOUTH for goodness sake. Plus, I'm not happy with Phil the groundhog telling me I have six more weeks of this misery.

But... good news came my way today. The beautiful shoes I found late last night I also found on eBay. For 40.00. I was jumping with joy. Against Christopher's advice, I bid on them last night in hopes that it would be a sure win. Plus, I didn't want Christopher to forget to keep an eye on them if I had school today. Well, wouldn't you know we got another bidder this morning.

Now, I despise eBay for the pure fact that it is very much like gambling. I'm more of a "give me the price, I'll pay the price, you give me the merchandise" kind of girl. Well these shoes had no "Buy Now" option. Therefore, Chris and I went into a bidding war during the last seconds of the auction.

Turns out... I WON! I'm so excited. I did have to pay 61.00 for them, but definitely worth the price (about 1/4 of the true cost). They are everything I have been looking for in a wedding shoe. I hope they fit because I will wear them with everything all the time. If they don't... well, I'll at least force them to fit for the wedding. I love love love love love them.

I also went into the local Lilly Pulitzer today because corporate found my rehearsal dress in my size. It is STUNNING in person. And it fit perfectly. Unfortunately I had already purchased a bigger size online and since it was on clearance it's non-returnable. I suppose that's ok since our local store was charging much more. Just another thing to get tailored. It should be here tomorrow. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY.

Off to fix up some lesson plans and get ready for bed. This one day off, one day on, one day off work schedule is really messing with my body. It's only going to get worse this weekend!!

COUNTDOWN TO MORGAN
10 DAYS!

SHOES

Ok, as soon as I published that last post I found the most perfect shoes. I am normally a nut about shoes because I have weird feet. But these are absolutely everything I've been looking for. Plus they are on clearance. But clearance is still a little out of my price range. But... I am in love with them. If anyone wants to make a donation to the Kristi-Really-Loves-These-Wedding-Shoes, please feel free to comment or email me...

Moving Right Along!

Since we had a snow day Monday I decided it was about time I got a few things checked off the wedding to-do list. So here's the excited news I received today...

1. Invitations have been printed and are in the mail. Hopefully they will arrive soon and be PERFECT. (Proofing things always makes me nervous....) Thanks Cam!
2. My veil is ordered and in the mail. I have no idea why I waited so long to do this - it's so simple but I'm very excited to see it. Especially with my dress. Especially when Morgan comes NEXT WEEK.
3. I just now, this second, ordered my dress for the rehearsal. I have been looking for months and a few weeks ago found a Lilly Pulitzer (obviously) and just fell in love with it. I headed over to our local store on the snow day, but alas, it was not in stock. Both the women there were all for it though. Said it's the perfect bridal dress. WOOHOO. I ordered a size up hoping it will fit and we can tailor down the hips if we have to. (I vary between three sizes in Lilly). So.. here it is!

It is from the fall collection, therefore is VERY difficult to find. I pray that it fits because it's non-returnable. Whoops! The back is a scoopneck with the beading. Ah - perfection. I'm so excited I might just jump right out of my cableknit sweater. Hehe.

Let's hope the snow doesn't hold up my packages!! By the way, Robin, Suzie and Joey have not had work all week. In fact, I believe they were canceled Friday as well. That makes FOUR days off plus a weekend. Must be nice. ;-) We're supposed to get 2-4 more inches tonight (on top of the 1 or 2 we already got today) and some ice. I'm hoping for a delay. Cancellations are the worst because you have to make them up at some point; trust me, my little angels are much more bearable at 10:00 than 8:00 (probably because I need my coffee and am generally not a morning person!)

Off to get ready for bed. According to the website, I have to be at work on time tomorrow. Happy Groundhog's Day to everyone!! (Although, Phil tiffed me this morning with this whole shadow business... I'm over this Virginia snow).

COUNTDOWN TO MORGAN
T MINUS 11 DAYS!!

Blogger AWOL

Our driveway at 3:00 am.
Bright moon + super long shutter speed.

I really think this is the first time I have gone WEEKS without blogging. Our life has been SO busy and hectic in Charlottesville that I really haven't had time to sit down and record my rambling thoughts. Plus, now that I've started Project 365 it seems that my few minutes of personal computer time are exhausted by uploading the last few days of photos.

We got snow again yesterday. Lots and lots of snow. I would say total probably between 8 and 10 inches. Luckily my neighborhood is already plowed out. The president of the homeowners association lives right across the street from us and often helps us shovel the top of our driveway so we can get the cars off the road. He told Christopher that he received so many email complaints from our last storm (24" over Christmas) that he had to hire a private company to come through. The bonuses of having an HOA. Apparently snow removal isn't actually included in HOA fees but hey, you've gotta keep the neighbors happy. :-)

As the snow continued to fall yesterday I sat on the couch and watched trash TV. My elbows hurt SO badly from the pressure and moisture (surgeries left me with some arthritis) that I literally couldn't move my arms. I did manage, however, to get a FEW things done for this upcoming week of work. Just a little bit of planning and printing.

I also, finally, ORDERED MY VEIL! I don't know why it took SO SO SO long, but it's finally ordered and being made and should be here within the next couple weeks. HOPEFULLY before Morgan gets here. Which, by the way, is in TWO WEEKS. I am sooooo excited.

No school in Charlottesville/Albemarle tomorrow because of the snowstorm yesterday. Although we'll have to make it up on the 19th, I have to say it's better to work a Tuesday instead of a Monday. Three day weekends rock my world. Maybe I'll actually get something done tomorrow!!

Rehearsal Attire

Along with the gajillion other things I'm trying to get done for the wedding, one of my fun tasks has been looking for a dress for the rehearsal dinner. Morgan and I have been on the phone regularly discussing colors and prices and where we can get expensive dresses for minimal prices. I am in LOVE with this Lilly Pulitzer dress... I want it. I NEED it. I do not have $300 to buy it. But if I did, which I don't, it would be MINE.

Today my mama is coming down to help me with a few things. We still need to figure out the flowers, someone to alter my gown, find shoes (I've ordered five pairs already), transportation and a host of other things. There is a lot to do when you plan a wedding. Cripes.

We put in the order for the invitations on Monday - woohoo! I have had the actual invitation SUITE picked out since my bridal shower in October, but it's just been getting the right fonts, and wording chosen. My Aunt Cammy is doing the invitations for me - God love her. I cannot wait to see how they turn out!

Four weeks from today, I will be picking Morgan up at the airport in Richmond. WOOHOO! She has already booked her flight to come down for two and a half days and I am SO freaking excited. She's never been to Charlottesville and I cannot wait to parade her around and show her all the fun, wonderful things our little town has to offer. We are praying the invitations will be here by then so we can address, stuff and mail them while she's in town.

Ok - off to clean for mama!

Happy 2010!

Photo 1/365

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had an enjoyable and (more importantly) SAFE New Year's celebration. Christopher had to work until about 12:45 so I welcomed in 2010 with Anderson Cooper and a glass of Diet Coke.

Above is the first photo of my Project 365. It represents how we celebrate. Since Christopher doesn't drink and I RARELY do, we "celebrate" by filling wine glasses with our favorite beverage... Diet Coke.

I have decided to post my Project 365 photos on my PicasaWeb site. I removed the past three years of photos from the site to clean it up for my resolution. For now, I will leave them public and password protect as needed. Wish me luck on my new endeavor!

Project 365

Celebrating our engagement in Boston.
New Years Eve/Day - 2009

I am not generally one to make New Years resolutions. Probably because (1) I can never come up with anything exciting, (2) I can't do anything related to exercise, and (3) as a lifelong student turned teacher, the "new year" for me begins in August.

The more I think about 2010, the more I realize that this is going to be a BIG year. The wedding will obviously be huge, but I will also be finishing my first year of teaching and Christopher and I are thinking about buying a home this summer. A few years back, Project 365 was all the craze. The basic idea is that you take one picture, every day, for an entire year. The photo does not need to be beautiful or professional, but solely a snapshot of an event from the day. Now that I have my D60, I figure the more practice the better! I'm sure to many people my Project 365 may be a little mundane (as my life tends to be a bit boring), but I think it is a wonderful way to capture the day-to-day events that are so often forgotten.

I will need to remember to keep A camera with me at all times. Along with my Nikon, I also have a smaller Canon point-and-shoot that fits easily in my purse. Bubby Claus also bought me a Flip Cam for Christmas so that can travel easily as well.

I'm still deciding on where/how to post the photos. I may create another blog so that they don't overtake the day-to-day happenings and wedding events on here. I'm debating on making it password protected for security reasons. The really hard part is the fact that my kindergartners are the source behind so many of my memories and I cannot post photos of them on an unsecure site. I may, come to think of it, start a new picasaweb site. Hm... food for thought.

Anyone started (or better yet, actually accomplished) Project 365? What are YOUR resolutions for the new year??

(PS. I resolve to get married).

Engagement Anniversary

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the day Christopher and I got engaged. Just like Christmas this year, we had spent a few days at my parents' house in Pennsylvania and returned home on the 27th. Unfortunately this year I didn't come home to a huge diamond, but instead Christopher scrambling to get to work on time! :)

Feel free to waste your vacation time reading our engagement story here. The clock is ticking away - only about 100 more days until the wedding. Hooray!

Happy Birthday Morgan!

A very happy 24th birthday to one of my favorite people in the entire world, my honorary sister and maid-of-honor Morgan. Morgan is a Christmas baby and loves everything about it. She shares my affinity for Kate Spade and present-giving. We live in Ralph Lauren and pearls. And we've known each other basically forever.

The photo above is from a few years ago when Burk, Morgan and me drove to Boston to visit Seth for literally 6 hours. The four of us went to a Sox game that I had gotten tickets for - it was Morgan's very first visit to Fenway. :-) Now she lives in Beacon Hill and can see the Sox whenever the urge strikes (yes, I am VERY jealous).

Here are some more random pictures that I came across on my laptop. :-) Happy birthday, Morgan! I LOVE YOU!!

Out in the 'burg for Morgan's 21st.

One of my favorite pictures of all time. I *think* this was her 22nd birthday.

Showing off her super sweet dancing skills.

Just before running off to Europe with Lise.

Seth and I's kindergarten circus.
Seth is the HUGE tiger head in front (his big head still blocks out most photos).
Morgan is the toddler with the blond mullet in the top left.

I am the kindergartner with the dark brown mullet to the right.
Yes I am sporting a leotard and a hair bow.

I LOVE YOU, MORGAN! Happy happy birthday and I am SO glad we outgrew our mullets. ;-)

Merry Christmas!

We are having a FANTASTIC Christmas in Dauphin. Barry and Minky-Claus were overly generous to us and we're having a great time lying around doing nothing! Last night we went to church (the secret to getting Christopher in a sweater vest) and this morning we opened presents from Santa. Christopher received a GPS and a bunch of clothes, I received a new Lilly Pulitzer datebook, a Flipcam from my brother, and we got a brand new set of pots and pans (Hm... good thing Christopher knows how to cook!)

I also just HAPPENED to get myself a new Kate Spade tote earlier in the week (oops!) and Morgan got me giraffe slippers (amazing), KS notecards, a Lilly pocket notepad and a golf tee Diet Coke coozy (with a pop included!) FABULOUS.

More to come later. Merry Christmas to all!!

Tunnel O' Snow

Our "driveway"/bike path

One thing I love about living in the south is the fact that I rarely have to shovel snow. And when we do shovel, it's never more than three inches. So when Christopher and I were looking for a house, the long, steep driveway that accompanied this one wasn't a concern.

Good night - that thing is long as SIN.

I just got back in from shoveling a path from the front door up to the road. We've been walking through the yard and Christopher had to wear jeans and take a change of clothes to work tonight. Our roads still haven't been touched; a coworker came and picked him up tonight. And wouldn't you know, it's the one time of year the Jeep is in the shop. YOU SHOULDN'T NEED FOUR WHEEL DRIVE IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA.

After shoveling my tunnel, I covered it with an entire box of Kosher salt and a can of sea salt. We've got a little bit of traction out there but keep your fingers crossed that CGH doesn't bust his butt trying to get down the driveway tonight!! :)

I have cabin fever already. Two feet of snow is just plain ridiculous...

Used in their entirety, just to cover the bike path I made...

It's like an ice luge!

SO LONG. I had to bat the trees because the snow was so heavy they were touching the driveway.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

It has now been snowing in Charlottesville for almost 24 hours. For those readers who don't live in the south, this is a HUGE deal down here. Virginia doesn't have the manpower nor the equipment to handle this amount of snow, so Christopher and I are pretty much "snowed in." We currently have around two feet and it hasn't stopped yet!

We tried to go outside and make a ghetto sled out of a plastic wreath box but it turned out to be a giant FAIL. There's just too much snow and it's the light powdery kind that doesn't pack well. So much for that. It is beautiful out though, and quiet and peaceful.

I am a little tiffed that this is the first day of winter vacation for the elementary schools and the snow waited until now. I could have really used a snow day about two weeks ago when my kids were going CRAZY. I am really happy that we read and gave each kid a copy of Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day. I hope they are all outside enjoying the massive amounts of precipitation - especially my refugees that have probably never seen snow.

So, since we are locked in, I thought I would post a few pictures of the Minsterman-Hartwell household as my winter vacation begins!

Last night as the snow begins to fall, I attempt to put on the most amazing Christmas album of all time. Mariah Carey. Empty case = another fail.

I came home to find the best presents under the tree. Six 2L bottles of Diet Coke. Now that's what I call Christmas. THANK YOU CHRISTOPHER CLAUS!

Now it is officially our 2nd Christmas, but here's a shot of our cheapo ornament that my ring was attached to last year. Tear... ;-)

As the snow began to really pick up last night...

Out the front door when we woke up.

This is as far as we can get the back door open.

Christopher managed to squeeze out to put down the umbrella on the patio table. His feet aren't even close to hitting the deck.

There may not be milk in any of the stores in town, but trust me - we're prepared. (At least for now, if Chris keeps going like this we'll be out by tonight!)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

CORRECTION

Holy cow! It's not five months until the wedding - it's FOUR. Uh oh - I better get to work!

T Minus Five Months and ANSTY Kindergartners

I cannot believe the wedding is less than five months away. It still feels like yesterday that I met Christopher and then eleven months later he proposed. Time flies.

We got our Christmas tree earlier this week and finally have the lights up and the ornaments out. The rest of the house has been decorated since Thanksgiving but with only having one vehicle and completely opposite work schedules, it's hard to arrange things like picking out a tree. Last night I was sitting on the floor unwrapping all the ornaments when I came across the cheap little "Our First Christmas" ornament I bought as a joke last year. Christopher laughed at me when I bought it, but it didn't stop him from hanging my engagement ring off it last December. I have suddenly become extremely protective of my little snowman sled. :)

On the wedding front, we got the updated menu from the caterer (holy cow, it is NOT cheap to feed that many people...) and I think we're almost settled on the food. She did leave out the coffee which is a HUGE no-no with our guest list (Christopher and myself included). We'll be sure to remedy that as soon as possible.

I have five more days of work and then a TWO WEEK BREAK. Boy oh boy do I need it. I love my kids... really I do. But they are exhausting this time of year. They know the holidays are approaching and it's like some type of drug for them. Even my most well-behaved are bouncing off the walls. Last week we did a gingerbread man theme. We had a blast measuring the room with gingerbread men and reading all the different versions of the story and even creating our own! And then I had this wonderful idea to make gingerbread men. Thursday we made the dough, which really wasn't that bad at all. The kids stood around two tables pushed together and I let them help me measure out the ingredients and put them in the bowl etc. They were so excited to smell the vanilla extract and cinnamon, even the ginger and nutmeg. One little girl said, "Oh Miss Minsterman, I do not prefer this smell" when the nutmeg came around. (That's what I make them say instead of "ew, yuck" to foods they don't like). It was the perfect activity because we are working on measurement right now in math.

Now Friday was a different story. Janet (my assistant) and I decided to let them have a free-for-all with dough, flour, rolling pins, and cookie cutters. They had a BLAST but my room was a disaster. It took me my entire lunch break/planning period to clean up. And then we had issues with reserving the oven and were in a MAD rush as the end of the day to get the cookies packaged up to go home. A few kids were complaining that they didn't receive the cookies that they made etc. Next year we will definitely be allowing them to choose ONE cookie to take home, no matter how many they make!

I had the video camera in the room and interviewed them as they were rolling and cutting. Their answers are hysterical - I think they'll be broadcast on the morning news this coming week. We have no HUGE projects planned for the upcoming week - just a Jan Brett author study so hopefully they'll be a little more tame (ha - yeah right). I can't wait to give them their holiday presents; Janet and I bought them each a copy of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (God love the $1 books from Scholastic) and snowman pencils and erasers. For kids who don't have a ton of books at home, this is a fantastic addition to their library. Hooray!

And now just a few more days of work to push through and then I get to see my Mama and Daddy and Bubby and Morgan and Seth and...and...and... I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

Happy Belated Birthday, CGH!

Christopher's birthday was last Tuesday - he turned the big 3-4. :-) You would never know to look at him; I swear he still looks 25. My parents and I went together to get him an iPhone and some accessories to go along with it. He is REALLY excited and although he has been wanting one forever, he is still very in awe of all the features.

In honor of Christopher's 34th birthday, here are thirty-four reasons I love my fiance: (gag)

1. He is really funny (at least to me).
2. He makes me a sandwich each night for work the next day.
3. He is forgetful.
4. He's soooo darn cute.
5. I'm taller than him (only by like 1/2 inch).
6. He asked my dad AND brother if he could marry me (while in a vehicle loaded with guns and ammo).
7. He wakes me up each day with coffee, even though he doesn't have to get up until hours afterward.
8. He is impulsive yet indecisive.
9. He tries to eat healthy but gorges on ice cream and cake.
10. He gives good hugs.
11. Everytime he gets annoyed with me he tries to take my engagement ring off.
12. He's perfectly content sitting on the couch watching Law and Order with me.
13. He works REALLY hard at everything he does.
14. He loves me even though I am so odd sometimes.
15. He is an incredible designer and can make the most beautiful works of art.
16. He loves all my friends.
17. He lets me ramble on about the kids in my classroom and all the funny things that happen in kindergarten throughout the day.
18. He is wonderful with kids (I can't WAIT to see him with Suzie's baby boy - woohoo!)
19. He uses the dryer as his dresser (actually I want to kill him for this).
20. He tucks me in at night.
21. He is generous.
22. He is SOOO darn cute (that deserves to be listed twice).
23. He's Catholic (cradle, but better than nothing) and is allowing me to have a wedding with a full Catholic Mass.
24. He completely surprised me when proposing, which I didn't think was possible.
25. He takes care of me.
26. He has a great last name for a teacher. Come on - Mrs. Hartwell is a super cute teacher name. Although I will definitely miss hearing the kids say "Miss Minsterman" and attempting to spell it.
27. He loves coffee ALMOST as much as I do.
28. No matter how many times I ask, he always responds with, "I promise I will never leave you."
29. He has a great family.
30. My family loves him and vice versa.
31. He loves books and reading.
32. He thinks I'm funny - which I am - but still.
33. He tries to talk me out of eating pure starch for dinner EVERY NIGHT, although he is always unsuccessful.
34. HE IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME!!

I love you, Christopher.

Happy belated last-birthday-as-a-bachelor!

Being Sick is the Pits

Today I am home sick from work. I woke up feeling really sick to my stomach and have a headache and just generally feel as if I am running on empty. Thank goodness my assistant Janet is back so we won't have two substitutes in a kindergarten classroom. Yesterday I had a really nice substitute for Janet. An older gentleman who had been a teacher for years. I don't think he had ANY idea what kindergarten was like. He looked at me and said, "Whatever they pay you, it's not enough." Amen, brother. I also just found out I'm getting a new student on Monday. That will take my total back up to 19. At least it's a girl - I can't take any more rowdy boys!! :-)

I cannot believe it is December already. Where has fall gone? Maybe it's because of the warmer southern temperatures but I'm just not ready for Christmas. I decorated over the weekend while Christopher was at work so all we need is a tree (there is a large empty spot in the corner of our living room). It was fun to put up my nativity scene though because it is finally complete. I got the creche last year for Christmas and was assembling it when CGH proposed. Now Baby Jesus has even MORE fond memories. :-)