Home Again, Home Again Jiggety Jig!

I hearby do solemnly swear NEVER to move right before Christmas again. Ever. I love that all I have to do when I get back tomorrow is unpack boxes, but December 23rd was NOT a happy day. At all.

I did not get home until Christmas Eve at around 5:00. It's a long story, and I'll be glad to relay it in person, but basically, it involves an ATM that ate my check card, a bank teller who could not help me, movers who were an hour late and REALLY slow, and some really last minute Christmas shopping.

When I finally got here, I was an exhuasted emotional mess. ESPECIALLY after I discovered I'd left all my dress up/hang up clothes at home!!! My sisters all came out to the driveway to help me get myself (still crying) inside. They loaned me clothes for the dinner Saturday night and snuck me in without anyone seeing me. (We had LOTS of family over, and I just was not in the mood to see anyone yet.) It ended up being a really fun night. All 4 of us slept in the same room - a tradition and this year, a necessity! We wrapped presents, and stayed up talking. We fell into bed around 12:00 I think.

Boone girls on Christmas Eve.... thank goodness for sisters!!

I'm still amazed that I was able to put on some of Kadee and Nattie's clothes! :-)

Boone family on Christmas Eve.... SO GOOD TO BE HOME!!

Christmas Day was really relaxed and just plain lazy. We had another Boone family dinner that night at my uncle David's, and of course I got to see the gorgeous, adorable, precious and perfect Baby Boone Redding!!!! I'll post pictures of the tables I got from Mama and Daddy this year once I have my apartment set up. It's funny, I never thought I'd be excited about getting tables for Christmas, but I am! :-)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not sure they get any cuter than this!!

Boone cousins on Christnas night

Front Row: Kevin, Kadee and Tyler

Middle Row: Baili, Abby and Lori

Back Row: Nattie and Jennie

I head home tomorrow, but I may be bringing more than just my tables with me! Daddy and I are going to look at new cars tonight - woo-hoo! I LOVE my truck, but I can't stand the gas guzzling it does any longer. I'll definitely post pictures if I have a new vehicle in the next few days!

Teachers Gone Wild.... and Not So Wild

So these pictures are from a few weeks ago, but I've wanted post them to show what my friends and I do when we are NOT molding the young minds of tomorrow... :-) Everything you've heard about those wild, crazy, sexy schoolteacher girls is true!!

My friend Nikki is married to a rock star. No, really! Her husband is in a band called 7Sharp9 and they are REALLY great. Check them out here and make sure to go see them next time they are in town!!

They play all over the country and once a month or so, they come to Hemingway's here in Scarietta. The last time they were here, they put on a benefit concert for our school's Relay for Life team. It was so much fun!! Even a few of our stay at home mommies came out to "throw down!"

Natalie and Nikki (a mommy and a rock star's wife!)

Natalie, Danielle, Nikki, Chelsea and Catherine

Abby and Sherry... The only single hot mamas in Kennesaw!

On the other hand, I do act like a normal well-behaved person from time to time during the weekend. That same weekend, Eugene and I took my two all-time favorite students out for a big night on the town. Estefania and Dayra both met a really big goal I set for the both of them last year (learning all their multiplication facts 0-12) and have made all A's so far in 4th grade.

Estefania and Dayra at Pappadeaux's

To celebrate, we went to see Chicken Little and then had a big dinner at Pappadeaux's nearby. We had a BLAST !! My kids don't get to go out to eat very often, much less go see a movie so this was a really fun treat. I was impressed with how adventurous they were at dinner. Both girls tried calamari and mussels for the first time. They loved the calamari, but they spit out the mussels almost as soon as they took the first bite. :-)

Alright - Back to packing! I move in next Friday --- WOOHOO!!

Thanksgiving (A Little Late)

Boone girls.... We are so cute!

I was sooooo homesick and ready to be home. This was the first time all six of us had been together since Easter (in Atlanta), and we couldn't remember the last time we were all in Weaverville. My visit home made me all the more ready to be with everyone again at Christmas. I do not look forward to the day when one of us gets married and has to decide where to spend the holidays.

We spent Thanksgiving day with Daddy's family. My Aunt Tanna and Uncle Tim were going to go to Greensboro to spend the day with Boone, but they stayed and she brought my favorite... broccoli casserole!!!

The Boones on Turkey Day... Did I mention it was SO good to be home?

On Saturday, we drove to Greensboro where I FINALLY got to meet Boone Richard Redding! He is, as my Aunt Tanna says, perfect, gorgeous, sweet and precious. DeeDee and Baili rode up with us and spent the day with Lori while we went to my Uncle Tommy's house for lunch with Mama's family.

Dee-Dee, Lori and the perfect, precious, gorgeous and wonderful Boone!

Aunt Abby and Boone

Front row: Kadee and Abby

Couch: Jennie, Baili and Boone, Dee-Dee

Back Row: Lori and Nattie

My sister's boyfriend Jevone braved the day with us in Greensboro. He is stationed on the naval base in Memphis right now, and had a few days leave for Thanksgiving. Kadee went to his house to see his family and they met us in G-boro. I was so excited to see him - he is one of my favorite people!! I'm hoping he can stay and hang out longer when he gets time off at Christmas.

JP and Smooch!

I have bunches of pictures to be published in another blog, another time??? Right now, I need to work on MY LAST 2 PROJECTS for this semester of grad school. One more week and I get a BREAK for a month.... woohoo!!

Friday Blues

Yes, that's right... FRIDAY blues.

I walk out to my car with a big stinky bag of garbage. I'm already 5-10 minutes late getting out the door. What do I see when I arrive at my car?!?!

.... A FLAT TIRE!!

Once again, Mr. Wonderful saved the day. He dragged himself out of bed at 7am and came over to fix it. It's 9:00 and I'm still not at work... hopefully I'll make it there soon.

In the meantime, the BEST TOSS STUDENT IN THE WORLD is teaching all by her lonesome. The kiddos giving her a hard time will feel my wrath when I finally get there. No recess for YOU!

He's Here!!

Boone Richard Redding

6 pounds, 13 ounces

20 3/4 inches

November 12, 2005

11:08 a.m.

I am officially an aunt... well, kind of. If anyone asks me who this BEAUTIFUL boy is, he is my nephew. My first cousin, Lori had the first grandbaby in our family on Saturday. We grew up across the street from each other in Waynesville and I have always looked to her as more of a big sister than anything else. That makes ME an aunt! :-) I have already cried and said thank you prayers that everyone is O.K.

So.... welcome to the world baby Boone! You are loved loved loved already and I cannot wait to meet you next weekend!!

On a different auntie note, I am finally posting pictures of Bradley and Maddie in their Halloween get ups. Bradley is the rooster and Maddie is the chicken. Mo (Megan) tells me this is the ONLY picture she could get of Bradley not screaming his head off. By the time I got there, they were out of their costumes!

Auntie Cha loves her cranky pants rooster and her silly pants chicken!!

Posting with Pictures

Yes, ladies and gentlemen... it's true. I have a brand new digital camera and I have not posted any new pictures. Until now.

The irrepressible Jennie Lynn Boone.... See? This is what happens when you play with your big sister's camera!

I am nearing the end of my first semester in grad school and looking forward to moving into my first apartment all by myself!! Move-in date is December 23rd. I will send out an SOS for big burly moving men in the near future. :-)

Nicole and I headed out to Wild Bill's... little did we know it would be a night full of SCARY cowboys. Not the cute ones.

Yes, little did we know there were NO cute boys at Wild Bill's, only the scary ones. Scary ones that follow you around the dance floor when you are CLEARLY trying to dance AWAY from them. You know what the worst part was? The scary ones don't even buy you drinks!! We did have fun and we will be headed back eventually. When we KNOW the cute boys will be there.

More to come later....

Cleaning Lady

I just cleaned my entire apartment from top to bottom. It was a three hour adventure that would make Mama proud....

Will post pictures later of the sparkling extravaganza.

Must eat. Need a BIG glass of wine on the side. And a cute boy to snuggle with.

Oh well... can't have everything. :-)

Catching Up...

So I haven't posted in awhile... my apologies. I have been a busy girl.

Grad school is KILLING me, but I am loving my classes. It's the DRIVE that just. plain. stinks.

At the other school, I absolutely LOVE my kids this year. They are smart, they are sweet and they are funny. They WANT to work. I LOVE it. I'm also really enjoying being a "Science Coach/Contact." My team is really setting the bar high for everyone else to follow. I love being able to show other teachers how to be even better at what we do. At the same time, I get to learn how to get better at what I do from all of the amazing people I work with. It's AWESOME!



I am also babysitting alot to pay for the GAS that goes in my car on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My friend Kendall has been very good at keeping me "gainfully" employed 4-5 days each month. Her kids are alot of fun, but they definitely wear me out. At the end of the day, we ALL need a nap.

Kari - I thought you would love to see these kiddos. :-)










Mac and Will - turning 5 this month!

Big sister Libby, who turns 7 in November!

I did make a trip home to North Carolina this weekend and have a few pictures and stories to share. But if I wrote about that now, what would all of my adoring fans have to look forward to? Besides. It's late. I need to be in bed. SOME of us have to get up for work tomorrow. I also give up on trying to make all of this look pretty. So people - - -

Deal with it.

weekend

So this isn't the most FLATTERING picture, but it IS one I managed to hijack off of Kari's site. In case you couldn't tell... she's home! Well, durr! I'm not in France with Nicole!

I always wish she could stay longer, but I'm also thankful for the visits she and Jonathan are able to make. My goal this year is to save up so I can go visit her once I'm done with grad school.

Speaking of grad school, I'm feeling pretty good about it. I am AHEAD with my homework. Go ahead.... pat me on the back.... I deserve it. Earlier this week, I was stressed out about how much I have to do and how little is getting done. That doesn't seem to be the case. Now, as long as I stay ahead, life will be much more manageable! WooWoo!

i am getting very sleepy....

writing this while i have a few minutes before class...

this drive is going to wear me down. whoever reads this, do me a favor. DON'T LET ME TAKE 2 CLASSES IN ATHENS NEXT SEMESTER... unless they're on the same day. the one thing i know i can look forward to is the way it will feel when my head hits my pillow tonight....


later taters!

who has the best boyfriend in the world?

i do! i do! these came yesterday afternoon to school. aren't they beautiful??? and yes, all my friends were jealous. it was great. eugene sent them for no reason at all --- which is the best reason ever --- and they absolutely made my day.

today was loooong. was had PTA which kept me from going to class, but i didn't leave work until sometime after 8. i can't really complain though. normally i don't get home on thursdays until around 9:30. plus, i took tomorrow off. woohoo!!!

i am spending tomorrow with my friend amanda. we are going hiking, out to lunch, and then whatever we feel like. we're wild women.

yeah, right.

testing - testing - 1-2-3!

the ITBS has arrived in my classroom. boo-hiss!!
standardized testing is such a joke.

my students are being tested on 3rd grade material AT THE BEGINNING OF 3RD GRADE!!! it is a waste of instructional time, my kids are stressed out unnecessarily, AND a big ol' waste of money considering nobody looks at these stupid scores.



in the meantime, i'm trying to do lots of hands-on stuff in the afternoon. it's not really fair to ask them to sit still and be quiet all morning during testing and expect them to do it again in the afternoon! okay - i'm off my soap box. :-)

on a happy-pants note, i don't have to go to Athens this Thursday. we have PTA open house and my professor is letting me off the hook! woohoo for saving $30 (at least!) on gas! i'll even be at home and in bed before 9:00!

wow... i really sound like an old lady. :-)

Sunday

I am sitting in my living room with my boyfriend. I have just been fed an amazing meal that I did not have to cook. I am watching VA Tech wrestle with NC State and I have beer in a cold glass.... life is pretty good! :-)

Kari is home!!!

I'm taking a personal day this Friday - woohoo for a 3 day week! - so we can play. I am soooo excited she's here --- she's one of those friends who always knows just what to say and when to say it. I hate to admit it, but I think I need to hear what I know she's going to say. :-)

Be back later - Eugene can't work the thermostat in my igloo....

Wasting Time

So I have an ENORMOUS list of things I should be doing with my long weekend, but how am I spending my time? I'm creating a blog that no one even knows about! :-)

In fact, I really need to get busy. I'll come back and play with this later.