The most wonderful time of the year.....

It's been a while since my last post but all that really matters is the start of college football!!!! I did go to my high school reunion last weekend but it was pretty uneventful so I won't waste time on that.

Saturday, Megan and I went to Tuscaloosa to Derek and Heather's house to watch the game. I had a great time seeing everyone and even got to play with babies!! We had fun just chatting, catching up, and cheering on the Tide!! I think it's going to be a great season. I can be a tried and true Bama fan and not have to worry about that Auburn fan I used to live with! lol. Thanks to the Reeves' for hosting us!!!

Tonight I went over to Melissa and Daniel's and grilled out hamburgers. Pudge and Paisley enjoyed each other's company and I enjoyed getting out of the house and being around good friends who like to watch TV as much as I do! :-)

I feel so blessed to have wonderful friends who have been so hospitable and thoughtful during this difficult time of being apart from Sid. I hope that Sid is able to find the same in Indy. This will be a tough month as we won't see each other for a while. Distance makes the heart grow fonder right?? We'll see!!

Week 9

I had another doctor's appt. this week. I was at 9 weeks and 1 day. Mom came down and went with me again. We were able to hear and see the baby's heartbeat. CRAZY!!! Because things have been relatively easy up to this point I often forget that I'm pregnant but wow, was that heartbeat a big eye opener!! Here is the picture from the sonogram. He wasn't able to get a very clear picture this time. There were better pictures on the machine but he didn't record them quick enough.

I went over to Melissa and Daniel's tonight for dinner. Pudge and Paisley enjoyed playing together. Ok, they didn't really play but they didn't fight and for Pudge that's an accomplishment. She surprised me with my first official baby gift. She said she had picked them up at Target to give to someone having a baby. A little weird....I'm still getting used to the idea of a baby! Here's a picture...... very cute things, and unisex!!!

2 more weeks and then I'm dying to share this news with the world. I have told more people than I would prefer to but such is the case when you are a teacher and have lots of responsibilities and arrangements to make.

Down on the farm

Sid and I decided to meet in Nashville this weekend at my parent's farm. It belonged to my mother's parents and when they passed away she inherited it. It is quite convenient for our situation because Nashville happens to be about half way between B'ham and Indianapolis.

We had a great time just catching each other up on all that has been going on with both of our jobs and lives in general. Of course, Sid was so happy to see his #1 girl, Pudge! Here are some pictures from the weekend:

My reminder.....

So this summer, early June to be exact, Sid and I decided to plant some sunflowers. Well, Sid can't do anything half way and soon because obsessed with nurturing and caring for his precious flowers. He was SO worried about them when it moved because I'm not the best at gardening (i.e. taking time to water things so they don't die, lol).

I told him I would think of the flowers as a symbol of our relationship and that just as the flowers needed to be watered and cared for so did our long distance relationship. Yeah corny I know. Here's what the flowers look like as of today.

The pictures really don't do them justice. They are beautiful and almost 6 ft. tall. I can't wait for Sid to come home next weekend and see them in person. He's coming home for my 10 year high school reunion. It should be fun!

Finishing out my first full week of school. Still good so far...in fact getting better, believe it or not!! So ready for football season. Last weekend was really tough. I'm NOT a homebody and all of my friends were either out of town or busy. Although my best friend Jessica stopped by Sunday evening and we had a great time just catching up. I miss the days of Sunday night dinners in Tuscaloosa....great times. Ok, I digress....don't need to stoll down memory lane tonight! 17 days.....Roll Tide!!

Whew...one week down.

The students came back to school on Wednesday and althought it's been a great first week I am absolutely exhausted. I have had a tougher time than unsual adjusting to being back at work. Hopefully, I can get back in a routine and stop feeling utterly spent when I get home in the evening. With Sid not being here, I'm taking it back to my single days when I took naps....lots of naps.

My "even" day, which is, planning (except not really because I have to oversee guard), women's choir, men's choir, and concert choir is a demanding day. I'm going to have to figure out how to find time to take a break at some point during that day. Poor 4th block is going to get the brunt end of going a whole day without a break. They are tough though...they can handle it!!

Thought I would update everyone on how Sid is doing. He is absolutely LOVING teaching at Marian so far. They had band camp this week and everyday has just been story after story about how great the kids are and how much fun he is having teaching them. It makes me so happy to hear that from him. I can't wait to meet his students and see the band perform. He said they were like a "mini drum corps." lol

This will be the first weekend we've been apart. I can already tell that's when it will be tough...for me anyway. Netflix delivered two movies: Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 and Revolutionary Road. So Pudge and I are going to clean house and watch movies this weekend. I might even throw in a little pool time too!

I smell football in the air too.....14 days until the first HHS game, 22 days until the Tide rolls! :-)

Ah, validation!

So after pumping myself up about this school year I was secretly afraid that the first day was going to be a big let down. I was worried I would have horrible kids, that I would regret making the decision to stay but I'm happy to say, SO GOOD SO FAR!!!

Of course, it's the first day but after teaching for a while you can tell pretty early the classes and kids that will or won't give you trouble. Everyone seemed really excited today. The best part is that I always ask the kids why they are in that class to find out if they chose to take the class or if they were dumped in there. I always tell them to be honest and that they won't hurt my feelings if they were put in the class. Well, for the first time the majority of my choir kids actually REQUESTED to be in the class. HALLELUJAH!!!!

Now, I'm just ready to get all of the introductory stuff over with and get down to making some music! The longer I teach the more I realize how lucky I am to get to do something I love everyday. That sounds really polyanna I know but it's how I feel. Concert choir (some of them, won't have ALL of them until tomorrow) sang today and I was slightly apprehensive of what kind of sound was going to come out of their mouths, but it was pleasantly delightful!!

My difficult decision to stay in B'ham has been validated as of today.....check back with me in a couple of months! lol Hope everyone else had a great first day back whenever your first day was!!

Good things are a comin'

Well today was my first "official" day back at school. There is such a good vibe at HHS right now. I hope it carries throughout the year. We have a new principal, Mrs. Gober, and I really think she is going to do great things at HHS with the help of a supportive faculty and community.

I have spent the evening trying to program our AMEA concert. Here are some pieces I'm thinking about. Any suggestions from you choir people out there would be greatly appreciated!

Hodie! - Leavitt

Sing Unto God - Fetler

Cantate Domino - Pitoni (from this past year)

Adoramus Te, Christe - Palestrina

Jai vu Le Loup - Hatfield

Gota - Karlsson

Ritmo - Davison

Dide Te Deo - Brown

MLK - King Singers

The Seal Lullaby - Whitacre

The Epitaph - Martin

Give me Jesus - Kauffmann

Up to the Mountain - Shaw (listen to Kelly Clarkson sing it on YouTube...awesome!)

Ain' A That Good News - arr. Dawson - spiritual

Just some ideas. Of course we won't do all of them but I want to program pieces that are educational for the kids, yet enjoyable, but also plan a little something for everyone as well.

One more day of planning, cleaning, and organizing then the kids come Wednesday. Usually at this point I'm having trouble sleeping because of my crazy nightmares about school (teachers, you know what I'm talking about) but honestly this year I am really looking forward to gettng started.

If guard camp and band camp were any indicator of what this year will bring it is going to be a FANTASTIC year!! I get another student teacher in November too! Woo hoo!! Best of luck to all of my teachers friends and students heading back to school