Where have all the snowplows gone?

Looks like the first real blanket of snow is here (and is yet building as I type this) and I'm not excited about it. If you recall, last year was pretty bad and I'm a little concerned that the great city in which I live has not really learned their preparedness lesson.  I'm waiting for my favorite truck (the snowplow) to come.  Oh well, we'll be going out of town soon to where they are masters at taking good care of the roads (and drivers).  I will now end this pointless rant:)

LG must have gotten the message

LG has almost perfectly refrained from screaming since I wrote the last post, which of course may not be the end of it, but I am still grateful for the improvement. Therefore, the timeouts have ceased for now.  

LG's 1st (and 2nd and 3rd....) time out

This afternoon and evening proved to be parentally exhausting. LG, while a sweet boy, showed his persistence in testing one boundary in particular.  One of my "things" as a parent is teaching my child not to scream, at least while indoors. So, when LG proceeded to do that very thing about 7 dozen times tonight (only a slight exaggeration), I had to take some action.  Mind you, they were not hair-raising screams.  But he would look me in the eyes while he did his little performances. I saw this as an important learning moment for LG and myself. Since I've had some experience working with difficult kids as a teacher, I yanked open my mental filing cabinet and found that the file labeled "toddlers" was missing. But, if I have learned anything from teaching special ed, it is that you must be consistent and also point out good behavior. So, with this in mind, I was pretty good at giving him a consequence when he stepped out of the zone and likewise, letting him know when he was "talking nice".  The consequence became "time out" even though I am not completely sure about that method.  We danced this two-step for QUITE  a while tonight. My husband is out of the country, by the way, so this was an exclusive mother/son experience. There isn't much of a point to this post, just that I now feel a certain bond to all the parents of toddlers in the world. It is wonderful, and difficult. By the way, I still haven't found those stupid boots.

One item found

Naturally, I found the alarm clock about 3 minutes after I wrote the previous post.  No sign of the boots.

Has anyone seen my alarm clock or my boots?

It's been a week or two since I've seen my alarm clock. Likewise, the boots that I was planning on wearing today (and last Sunday) are also missing. I know LG is innocent until proven guilty, but he is my no. 1 suspect at the moment.  He is a pretty cute suspect. When my sister's kids were very young, she once found her alarm clock in the crisper area of the fridge. I had better continue my search.

Eight is great

Eight favorite shows:

The Office, Burn Notice, Psych, American Idol, Lost, Rachael Ray, West Wing, Lois and Clark (an oldie but a goodie)

Eight favorite restaurants:

Olive Garden, The Mandarin, El Matador, Ming Wah, The Roof, The Maddox, Utah Noodle, Noodles and Company

Eight things I've done today:

Woke up to a sub-finder call around 6am.

Listened to my son say/cry, "ALL DONE" while simultaneously eating his breakfast.

Substitute taught Special Ed in the morning and 4th grade in the afternoon at different schools.

Wolfed down my lunch in about 5 minutes.

Made sandwiches.

Folded towels.

Loaded the dishwasher.

Ate a healthy snack (apple, cheese, crackers) followed by a yummy snack: a candy bar (yes, from the bag that is for the 3 trick-or-treaters who will visit this Friday).

Eight things I am looking forward to:

Spending a few minutes with my husband after we finish this tag. Thanks Tara. 

Going to bed.

Looking at grocery ads online tomorrow (a strange one, I know).

Hanging out with a friend tomorrow.

Going to my sis's house for Thanksgiving.

Making pie and rolls for that very dinner.

Going home for Christmas.

That political campaigning will soon take a break. 

Eight things on my wish list:

A haircut/highlight.

A food processor.

Some new clothes for teaching.

A springform pan.

An undershirt for my black dress.

A ton of children's books.

New sheets.

A day at the spa (it's okay to wish upon a star).

Decision 2008? I'm still deciding

 I know some of you are appalled.  That's okay. Here is my story: I have watched the presidential debates, talked with my husband and others, written pros and cons for each candidate, etc. to help myself make a good choice. My loyalty to my family's political affiliation is waging war with my desire to make an independent choice (which, automatically takes on the appearance of voting opposite of what I've been taught growing up).   Although the clock is ticking I will make my decision.  Fortunately for me, our absentee ballots have yet to arrive. Are any of you shocked that I wrote a post on politics? Me too.

running is for the birds

This morning, my new friend and I bundled up our kid(s) in our strollers and ran about 2.5 miles.  It has been about 2 months since I went running, and... wow. Maybe we were going too fast, because, I found that as we talked, I had to gasp- talk slightly faster than normal-and then gasp again. It was a little embarrassing. After a while my ears were plugging up and were hurting.  I was so grateful when she suggested that we walk for a few minutes. Well, anyway, we made it, and saw a few horses and ponies during the journey, which the kids liked.  When we got home, I made it onto my couch and stayed there for quite a while and tried to play with LG while staying seated/horizontal. He was cheery and energetic, of course. Our next run is on Wednesday. It will be better.(?)

Singing and other creative outlets

Last night I went to the local broadcast of the General R.S. meeting.  Elder Uchtdorf spoke about creating things.  Today after thinking about that, my desire to be in a choir returned, as it occasionally does. 

So, with this in mind, I looked around online and found a few things.  I wonder, though, if this may not be the season in my life to be in a community choir. Rehersals, fees, performances... these words don't exactly mesh with my life at the moment. This is not to say I do not enjoy my life- I very much do.  I will simply search elsewhere for some way to create and look forward  to the time in my life when I can sing:)   I guess I still have some brainstorming to do! My apologies to those who love blogging, but my new blog isn't filling this need in me. 

Never say never

This blog is a gift to my husband.  He is an avid blogger and I'm trying to discover what the hype is all about. It is a little scary....I am having some stage fright right now, if that is even the right way to put it. 

I think my blog is just going to be your typical random mom blog. I will try not to write every detail of my days, instead just some highlights of what is going on:)