Gotta be quick...

Seeing as I have a "talking" child upstairs in the crib, I gotta make this update quick.

I have been out of school (yay for summer vacation!) for a total of 4 real days now - and it's getting expensive!! With all this time (aside from caring for Mat - which is enough in itself some days) I've been tackling some home improvement projects. It hasn't been anything too big, just rearranging furniture, getting new lamps, new barstools, picture frames, planting new flowers outside, etc. My goal is to get the house organized by the end of summer so when my REAL job of being a stay-at-home-mom begins in September (cause I'm still getting paid through August!) I'll be able to dedicate more time to Mateo and his development since he'll be a bit older by then. I'm trying to get him on a schedule, but some days are easier than others.

Speaking of, "doodie" calls. (Hehe... pretty good pun if I say so myself!)

Geez we're swamped!

So right now we have loads of stuff going on. First, school is into the full swing of things. I teach 4 sections of science per day plus I teach math in an after school program. And, as always, Rafi is very busy with his work, too. Top secret, though. (wink!)

Second, we have finally begun construction on the covered patio!! Tomorrow they pour the concrete, into which we plan to put our handprints and doggy paw prints. :) It will be 550 square feet of bliss when finished! Here are some progress pictures - one before and one is laid with sand.









Third, Rafi and I are going to quickly begin our landscaping projects in the backyard once the patio is finished. We will be (finally) adding trees and flowerbeds. Most importantly, Rafi has designed a waterfall that he will build himself (maybe with some help of VERY nice friends) that will go into one of the corners of the yard. I'm very excited about this project.

Inside the house I am cleaning and painting! (Don't worry, I got an okay from my doctor to paint in a ventilated area with a mask.) I think Rafi has had enough with my painting kicks!

Lastly, I'm officially out of regular clothing. :( I've discovered that only celebrities look really great pregnant because they can afford the tailoring on their designer clothes! It's really hard to find things that fit. In the interest of full disclosure, I give you a photo of myself. Just keep in mind this is after a 9.5 hour day at work.

Oh what a mess...

Since we started changing the rooms around in our house, we've been living in a pig sty - at least it feels that way. We are changing our twice-used dining room into an office (maybe with French doors later) and cleaning out the old office upstairs. This has turned out to be a huge deal. I never realized we had so much equipment and stuff in general that we aren't using. Anyhow, I'm guessing when the weather gets a bit cooler we'll be doing the garage sale thing one more time.

Not much else is new. School starts for me in two weeks, so I'm excited about having a daily purpose. On the other hand, I'm sure I'll miss not having to have one. But I always feel happier when I'm busy working anyway.

It's so hot here that the dogs sleep all day inside. What a life they have. I think they probably enjoy their lives more than we do our own. :)

Quick Update

I just found out that I will be teaching during summer school - a web design class for middle schoolers. Fun! Now I have to figure out what to teach! :)

Last day of school...

The last day of school was, as expected, bittersweet. I will definitely miss my kiddos who are moving from junior high to the big high schools. I wish I had more time with some of them because I'm so afraid for them. I wish I could follow them to give them the kicks in the butts they need. I'm expecting that this feeling wil wear off as I teach more, as the other teachers didn't seem to feel quite as sentimental. I did, however, learn a lesson at the end of the day. When the bell rang, I started to tell my fave ESL kid bye and he yells "Hasta nunca!" and hauls down the hallway out of the school. ("Hasta nunca" basically means "until never.") Ouch.

The following is something fun I wrote on the last day of school but didn't post:
Well today I got to face a long-time fear. I got on stage and danced in front of all our kids at school (6, 7, and 8th graders)! Our school has a tradition where the kids practice songs and lipsinc them in front of the whole school on stage with choreography, costumes, strobe light, props, and whatever else they prepare. The songs vary from country to love ballads to rap and even traditional Mexican songs. One song was reggaeton (think Daddy Yankee - Spanish reggae), and I was dancing on the side with two other teachers. Next thing I know we were whooshed onstage!! Yikes!! It was scary but fun. We danced with the other students on stage, and the kids in the audience (and fellow faculty members, too!) all stood up, screamed, cheered, and clapped. For a split second I got really nervous, but then I figured that the kids think we're old and out of it anyway, so you might as well have fun. Now I'm known in the school as the "cool" teacher who can dance! :-D

So now I wait in limbo to find out if I'm teaching a web design class for summer school. And I also still wait (along with a bunch of other teachers, so I'm not alone) to get my contract for next year. Have I mentioned that I HATE waiting?! Until then, I'll try to busy myself this summer with my new Dyson vacuum cleaner (nicknamed "Lance" because it's the yellow one with one ball... hehe) and with keeping fresh on my Spanish. If you want to find me, you might also find me at the pool, or in a yoga class or water aerobics class at the gym. :)

Spring Break Wrapup

Well, Spring Break has come and gone. I fully expected school to be torturous on Monday - you know, 'cause going back to any job after a vacation seems torturous - but it wasn't! :) In fact, the day just flew by. Perhaps it's the knowledge that I'm leaving for another mini-vacation (ski trip) this Saturday. Or perhaps it's the fact that I have so much prep to do for the next nine weeks of school. I'd rather think, though, that it's because this job is the best job for me. :) Monday was great - my Spanish flowed like no other day, the kids were happy, and many were absent! HA!
Anyhow, on to the wrapup of my spring break. Friday through Tuesday my mom visited because it was her spring break, too. We cleaned, we ate, we spent too much money at the mall - you know, the usual. We were gone so much during the day zooming around town that I'm sure the dogs thought I got an extra job in the evenings. Thursday I met up with three friends and each of their tiny tots. It's so amazing to see such cute little people! Since I was the only one with no child, I was asked twice where mine was. I should've said "Oh no! I lost him!"
The rest of the week I continued doing the fun stuff - laundry, building desks for our new office downstairs, cleaning out closets, getting ski equipment ready, etc. I also finally renewed my car registration and had the brakes checked out and fixed. Not too adventurous. I did go to a WW meeting with a couple friends, though. I'm thinking of joining for 6 weeks just to get these post-marathon pounds (5 of them) off plus maybe an extra 5 for good measure. It's hard to have good motivation during times of vacation.
Qué más, qué más... ah yes, a group of us saw "V For Vendetta." I really liked it. It had some interesting political viewpoints and overtones as well as pointed metaphors. Natalie Portman did a great job, and the soundtrack was most enjoyable.
Bueno pues. The end.

Sigh...

I'm probably posting this prematurely, but I'm anticipating problems with my certification program. May will mark a full semester of me teaching ESL. In May I will have to apply just like everyone else for a contract teaching job. (This process is normal for all teachers.) The problem is that my program is denying me to take the test required to teach ESL. I'm not fully understanding what the issue is yet, but I'll get to the bottom of it. If in the end I'm not approved, then I'll have to teach something else I've tested for already.
Even though I've found this whole process of switching careers torturous and ridiculous, it still hasn't deterred me from my career decision. I just wish something would break for me. :( *violins playing in the background

2005 Recap

Okay, so as you may have noticed there's been some slacking going on regarding our website updates. I can give a lot of excuses, but frankly most of it is due to laziness. So for the sake of keeping YOU informed and ME informative, hehe, I have installed this (very informal) blog. Now for a quick recap of 2005.

Last year was pretty tough for my side of the family. We lost my dear, sweet, funny, friend-to-everyone granddad. It feels false to even write it now, almost 7 months after the fact. This has been the biggest reason for the loss of updates (aside from the afore mentioned laziness) as I couldn't seem to make my fingers type the words. It was and still is a devastating loss for all of us. I miss him so much every day, but I feel him around me constantly. He was the best human being I ever knew and is missed by all those whose lives he touched. I like to think he can now easily play every musical instrument he ever wanted. :)

I had a career change. I am a teacher! The world of software chewed me up and spit me out. Frankly, I'm glad to be gone, though I will always have my little projects. Anyhow, I've finished my schooling and my testing in December and now work for Round Rock ISD. I'm still amazed that I now come home after work actually smiling. :)

In July my mom came with Rafi and I to visit Panamá for the first time. It was close quarters all of us staying with Rafi's parents, but we managed just fine and had great experiences. Who would have thought that our parents would all do a zipline in the tropical forest canopy?! Well, we all did it and have the pictures to prove it! Mom had a good time sight seeing and enjoying piña coladas at a resort, although not such a good time discovering a food allergy. I would venture to guess, though, that she'd love to come back again. I know for a fact she loved the food!

December led Rafi and I back to Panamá. Strangely this trip we saw the beach for all of two hours, but we did have one major accomplishment - we climbed an active volcano! It was TOUGH and the high altitude didn't make it any easier, but the view was incredible.Volcán Barú is located in a small town in the interior close to the Costa Rica border. If you ever decide to do this, take plenty of water, Pascual lemon cookies, and bug spray. We didn't think about the latter and paid for it later. Oh, and expect to hardly move the next morning.

That about wraps up 2005. I'm sure I left all sorts of details out, but I'm ready to move on to 2006!