As I wrap up another very full and tiring week, it's time to make a list of my weekend goals. Thankfully, it's a 3-day weekend, and it couldn't come at a better time.
1. Family night. Probably pizza and a movie. We have a DVD called "Amazing Caves" which we heard about at the rock and gem museum in Asheville. Maybe we'll watch that.
2. Gator football. Florida vs. Hawaii, 9:30 am Saturday. Alex and I will drive to Maloney's in Scottsdale to watch our third national championship season kickoff (how's that for a prediction?)
3. Shopping in Mesa. Cristina wants to go to a clothes swap to trade some old clothes for, well, different old clothes. As long as she brings back far less than she takes, I'm happy. And it doesn't cost anything. While in Mesa, I'm going to swing by Bookmans, a big used bookstore, and try to trade some old books. Hopefully I can find some new books for my classroom library. Hmm, the only Krispy Kreme in the state of Arizona is in Mesa. Hmm...
4. Turkish buffet. When we first moved to Phoenix, we had some Turkish neighbors. They had two sons about the same age as Sofia and Alex, and we struck up a nice relationship. The Phoenix Turkish Association puts on a big buffet dinner to raise money a couple of times a year. We love Turkish food, so any time we get invited, we go! All-you-can-eat, home-cooked Turkish food...I can't wait!
5. Movie with Peter. Hamlet 2. Saturday night. Not sure if I'll have room for popcorn and Coke after pigging out on Turkish food, but I'll waddle across that bridge when I get to it.
6. Cut the grass.
7. Catch up on laundry.
8. Shampoo downstairs carpet.
9. Change sofa cover.
10. Sort and process mail basket.
As you can see, the first half of my list is far more interesting. But the second half is kind of nice, too. I actually like those kinds of days where we have a big breakfast and then work around the house, everybody chipping in, listening to NPR... Cristina probably has more things to add to the list, but if I get all 10 done, I'll be pretty satisfied.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Update
Cristina reminded me last night that it has been far too long since I've posted, and she's right. There's quite a bit of stuff to update everyone on, so I'll try to hit the major things.
The New School Year
I'm into my fourth week with students and so far this is my best year yet as an English teacher. Nothing quite compares to the peak of my TV Production years (97-04)...those are still my fondest years of teaching...but this is my 6th year as an English teacher, and so far so good.
My kids are great, I feel comfortable and effective teaching reader's/writer's workshop, and I'm really enjoying what I do every day.
Oh, and I found out a couple of weeks ago that the classes I've been taking at the community college may allow me to move over one column in the salary schedule. So that's a nice bonus. Literally and figuratively!
Sleeping Arrangements
I know that's a funny subtitle, but just read on. Though we have a 4 bedroom house, the 4th bedroom has been used as a computer room/guest room. Since our kids have slept in our room for the first 4 or 5 years of their lives, it hasn't been an issue to only use 3 rooms. Well, Bella turned 4 this summer, and more importantly, she slept in a room with her brother for a good chunk of the summer (a few weeks in Florida and a few weeks in North Carolina). That test turned out pretty well, so this past weekend, we shuffled beds. We put the twin bed that had been beside our king in Sofia's room. We put the trundle bed that had been in Sofia's room in Alex's room. And Alex's bed is now (temporarily) in our bedroom. So now, we can pull the trundle out in Alex's room and Bella can sleep in there with him.
Photo taken last night of actual children sleeping. In case you're wondering, that's a sheepskin Bella is sleeping on. She's slept on it since she was about a month old.
While Bella makes this transition, we'll keep a twin bed in our room. The first night after the switch (Sunday) she slept in Alex's room with no problems. Alex likes it too because it means I get to lay down with both of them (usually I just lay down with Bella). But last night, she wanted to be back in our room. So we worked out a compromise. She can alternate rooms each night for a week, and then she'll just be in Alex's room after that. To solidify this choice, I'm ready to get rid of the twin in our room next weekend. Cristina had thought about keeping it for the occasional sick kid or whatnot, but I think it's got to go. I'll be glad to have the extra room in our bedroom anyway.
I know this may all sound a bit strange to anyone who has parented differently, but it's the way we do it. It works for us. The first two kids transitioned to their own room with the arrival of a new baby. Of course, that leads to my next point, which is the reason why Isabella is moving in with Alex...
New Baby
You may or may not remember that I had a vasectomy over a year ago. They said there is a slim chance that the vasectomy won't completely work. But mine has worked just fine. Sorry to mislead you! I thought I would liven up the post after such a long dry paragraph about beds and stuff.
Seriously, a new baby had been the impetus for solo sleeping the first two times around, but with Bella we're charting new territory. We're moving her because we just think she's ready and the time is right. It's nice to be able to do stuff in our room in the evenings after the kids are in bed, like put clothes away, read, or (gasp) watch a little TV! Although after 12 years of little-to-no TV in our bedroom, having a TV on in the bedroom kind of makes it feel like a hotel room. Weird.
Our Closet
If you've read this far, and you're wondering why in the world I would be including something about our closet in an update, then you know why I haven't blogged in so long. When taken at face value, the stuff going on in my life doesn't seem very significant. But I'll let you arrive at your own conclusions as to significance. This past weekend, Cristina finally weeded out a lot of clothes that were taking up space and not being worn. She's revamped her wardrobe a lot since starting her new job, so she's getting rid of older, out-of-fashion clothes that she doesn't wear. That and her nursing clothes.
Cristina's New Job
Over the summer, Cristina was hired by Desert Marigold School (where Alex and Bella go) as one of the Kindergarten assistants. She's working with Emily, who was Bella's playgroup teacher last year. Bella happens to be in her class again this year (Waldorf schools combine preschool and Kindergarten) which means she's in preschool with Cristina, 5 days a week. Cristina had hoped that Bella could be in a different class, for a little more independence, but this is how things have worked out. So far I think it's been okay. The money Cristina makes will pay for Bella's preschool (K-8 is free, but preschool is tuition-based) and give us a little extra for other expenses. Cristina is definitely more tired now, working about 28 hours a week, and the laundry has backed up considerably, attesting to just how much Cristina did in the laundry department. But we all have to adjust and help out more. Last night Sofia washed a load by herself. We're getting there.
College Courses
To continue to defer our staggering mountain of student loans, I am again enrolled half time in community college courses. This fall I'm taking a class on Structured English Immersion, which every teacher in Arizona has to do by August 2009 (I've put it off until now). To round out my 6 hours, I decided to take something easy: an online class called "Introduction to Cinema." When I told my buddy, Peter, about it, he said "you could probably teach that class." I said, "I did teach that class!" Teaching film studies at Gainesville High School is still one of my fondest teaching memories...
That's about all I can think of right now. There's probably more, but I'll go ahead and post this and add another post when I remember more stuff.
The New School Year
I'm into my fourth week with students and so far this is my best year yet as an English teacher. Nothing quite compares to the peak of my TV Production years (97-04)...those are still my fondest years of teaching...but this is my 6th year as an English teacher, and so far so good.
My kids are great, I feel comfortable and effective teaching reader's/writer's workshop, and I'm really enjoying what I do every day.
Oh, and I found out a couple of weeks ago that the classes I've been taking at the community college may allow me to move over one column in the salary schedule. So that's a nice bonus. Literally and figuratively!
Sleeping Arrangements
I know that's a funny subtitle, but just read on. Though we have a 4 bedroom house, the 4th bedroom has been used as a computer room/guest room. Since our kids have slept in our room for the first 4 or 5 years of their lives, it hasn't been an issue to only use 3 rooms. Well, Bella turned 4 this summer, and more importantly, she slept in a room with her brother for a good chunk of the summer (a few weeks in Florida and a few weeks in North Carolina). That test turned out pretty well, so this past weekend, we shuffled beds. We put the twin bed that had been beside our king in Sofia's room. We put the trundle bed that had been in Sofia's room in Alex's room. And Alex's bed is now (temporarily) in our bedroom. So now, we can pull the trundle out in Alex's room and Bella can sleep in there with him.
Photo taken last night of actual children sleeping. In case you're wondering, that's a sheepskin Bella is sleeping on. She's slept on it since she was about a month old.While Bella makes this transition, we'll keep a twin bed in our room. The first night after the switch (Sunday) she slept in Alex's room with no problems. Alex likes it too because it means I get to lay down with both of them (usually I just lay down with Bella). But last night, she wanted to be back in our room. So we worked out a compromise. She can alternate rooms each night for a week, and then she'll just be in Alex's room after that. To solidify this choice, I'm ready to get rid of the twin in our room next weekend. Cristina had thought about keeping it for the occasional sick kid or whatnot, but I think it's got to go. I'll be glad to have the extra room in our bedroom anyway.
I know this may all sound a bit strange to anyone who has parented differently, but it's the way we do it. It works for us. The first two kids transitioned to their own room with the arrival of a new baby. Of course, that leads to my next point, which is the reason why Isabella is moving in with Alex...
New Baby
You may or may not remember that I had a vasectomy over a year ago. They said there is a slim chance that the vasectomy won't completely work. But mine has worked just fine. Sorry to mislead you! I thought I would liven up the post after such a long dry paragraph about beds and stuff.
Seriously, a new baby had been the impetus for solo sleeping the first two times around, but with Bella we're charting new territory. We're moving her because we just think she's ready and the time is right. It's nice to be able to do stuff in our room in the evenings after the kids are in bed, like put clothes away, read, or (gasp) watch a little TV! Although after 12 years of little-to-no TV in our bedroom, having a TV on in the bedroom kind of makes it feel like a hotel room. Weird.
Our Closet
If you've read this far, and you're wondering why in the world I would be including something about our closet in an update, then you know why I haven't blogged in so long. When taken at face value, the stuff going on in my life doesn't seem very significant. But I'll let you arrive at your own conclusions as to significance. This past weekend, Cristina finally weeded out a lot of clothes that were taking up space and not being worn. She's revamped her wardrobe a lot since starting her new job, so she's getting rid of older, out-of-fashion clothes that she doesn't wear. That and her nursing clothes.
Cristina's New Job
Over the summer, Cristina was hired by Desert Marigold School (where Alex and Bella go) as one of the Kindergarten assistants. She's working with Emily, who was Bella's playgroup teacher last year. Bella happens to be in her class again this year (Waldorf schools combine preschool and Kindergarten) which means she's in preschool with Cristina, 5 days a week. Cristina had hoped that Bella could be in a different class, for a little more independence, but this is how things have worked out. So far I think it's been okay. The money Cristina makes will pay for Bella's preschool (K-8 is free, but preschool is tuition-based) and give us a little extra for other expenses. Cristina is definitely more tired now, working about 28 hours a week, and the laundry has backed up considerably, attesting to just how much Cristina did in the laundry department. But we all have to adjust and help out more. Last night Sofia washed a load by herself. We're getting there.
College Courses
To continue to defer our staggering mountain of student loans, I am again enrolled half time in community college courses. This fall I'm taking a class on Structured English Immersion, which every teacher in Arizona has to do by August 2009 (I've put it off until now). To round out my 6 hours, I decided to take something easy: an online class called "Introduction to Cinema." When I told my buddy, Peter, about it, he said "you could probably teach that class." I said, "I did teach that class!" Teaching film studies at Gainesville High School is still one of my fondest teaching memories...
That's about all I can think of right now. There's probably more, but I'll go ahead and post this and add another post when I remember more stuff.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Finally Finished
It's been almost 3 years since we moved into our house. Before the house was even finished being built we had planned on creating a little space under the staircase for the kids. I cut a hole in the drywall fairly early, but it remained just a hole for a long time.
It wasn't until my parents came to visit in October 2007 that some real progress was made. With my dad's help, we created a larger doorway, finished the interior walls, and wired an outlet box and two light fixtures. We even decided to make it a secret space by crafting a door disguised as a bookshelf. The only thing left was to put some flooring down. I bought some laminate flooring from IKEA while my parents were still here, but I didn't get around to putting it down.
10 months later, I finally got around to it. So the space, for all practical purposes, is now finished.
The pipes and stuff from the bathroom poke out. I could have built a box around them, but I thought I'd leave as much space as possible. I could always box them in at some later time, but honestly, I doubt that's gonna happen.
I covered my gaps with some simple molding. I wasn't going to do the far interior edges (around the stair beams) but Cristina talked me into it. I'm glad I did it. It looks nice.
It wasn't until my parents came to visit in October 2007 that some real progress was made. With my dad's help, we created a larger doorway, finished the interior walls, and wired an outlet box and two light fixtures. We even decided to make it a secret space by crafting a door disguised as a bookshelf. The only thing left was to put some flooring down. I bought some laminate flooring from IKEA while my parents were still here, but I didn't get around to putting it down.
10 months later, I finally got around to it. So the space, for all practical purposes, is now finished.
The pipes and stuff from the bathroom poke out. I could have built a box around them, but I thought I'd leave as much space as possible. I could always box them in at some later time, but honestly, I doubt that's gonna happen.
I covered my gaps with some simple molding. I wasn't going to do the far interior edges (around the stair beams) but Cristina talked me into it. I'm glad I did it. It looks nice.
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