Just playing here….

It’s nearly the end of a long week, and I just finished up a HUGE project that’s been looming overhead for a very long time.  So this is all I’ve got:

Oliver

Weekly Update 4/19-25

This past week was busy.  Like get to the end of the week and take a deep breath busy.

On Monday, I had a full day at school.  It was the last week of our term, so I was getting everything in order for the end (which totally means that as of today, I have six weeks of school left--so close, yet so far).  Then I raced home, put away all the laundry and cleaned up and took Oliver to the vet.  He got a shot (two actually--the first went right through him) and we discussed some things to try to help him gain weight because he was tiny and wasn't eating.  They gave us a wormer and some new food, and all was well.  Andy surprised me and showed up at the vet's office.  I thought I was going to be alone, but I was so grateful he came.  There was a lot of stuff to carry out, and it would have been overwhelming on my own.  After the vet, my friend Rebekah came over and we planned out our table for a ladies' luncheon at church next Saturday.  Rebekah stayed for dinner and we had hot dogs and smores over the fire pit.  I think it was eight before we finished up dinner and came in.

Last Tuesday was a loooonnnng day.  After school, I had to to go the Academic Superbowl.  I am the English coach (there are five separate teams), and we had to go to a town about 30 minutes away.  We left the school before 4 and didn't get home until nearly 10.  My team took first in their division, which was exciting.  I was proud of them--it was a lot of reading.  Once I got home, I really didn't want to do much.  I think Andy and I watched some tv and I fell asleep on the sofa.

By Wednesday I was already exhausted.  I hadn't had enough sleep, and there was still a whole lot to do.  I finished up a LOT of grading and was really slap happy.  I rewarded myself by reading Angie Smith's book for ten minutes at the end of the day.  I quickly realized that was not a book that could be read at school.  I was tearing up at my desk in the first chapter.  After work, R. and I met at the Dollar Tree to buy the stuff we needed for our table--but they didn't have much at all.  So we ran over to Wal-Mart.  We found everything we needed there (after poring over plants forever to find the perfect set of six).  Then I ran home, ate quickly, and headed to church for youth group.  I was really slap happy there...which isn't so good for one of the adults.  Andy was at work until 9:30 that night, so I was home alone for a good while after youth group.

Thursday was close to a normal day.  After school, I played with Oliver and cleaned up the house (it wasn't in pretty shape).  Andy's little brother in BBBS came over, and we had spaghetti (the first time I cooked a meal all week).  They both ate gluten free pasta and had no idea.  I really don't remember much about Thursday--I feel like I fell asleep for a little bit.  I know I spray painted pots for our table for the luncheon....and I know that I watched Community, The Office, and two episodes of 30 Rock.

Friday was frantic.  When I got home from school, I packed all of our stuff for the weekend, baked a treat for the "Treat of the Month Club" for Andy's dad, and did two loads of laundry....and started editing a few pictures that I'll hopefully finish today.  Andy got home late, then had to load things in the truck...which took over a half-hour.  Then we had to go to Lowes to buy tarp straps...then we finally hit the road.  Then the dog was a wild man.  Then part of the tiller we were transporting back to Indianapolis flew off while we were on the interstate.  At 8, Andy looked at me and told me he was hungry...and that he really wanted something greasy and disgusting.  So we went to McDonald's for the first time in over a year.  And it hit the spot.  Sometimes a double cheeseburger and small fries is the only thing that can fix anxiety.  Rarely.  But sometimes.  We finally made it to Indy, spent a half-hour or so there, watched Oliver chase Keegan again....this time Oliver made Keegan bleed a little.  He's a rough little pup.  We finally made it to my parent's house at 11ish...and Lauren got home shortly after  us.  We were all up way too late.

Saturday was nice.  We got to see grandma and grandpa, I napped a few different times, Oliver played with everyone.  Oliver attacked Lauren a few times.  She gave him one of her socks, and he wanted the other, so he grabbed at her foot until she gave it to him.  I kept chasing Oliver around because he kept getting into things and trying to eat things he shouldn't have.  I had to pry open his mouth a few times and take things out.  He's getting really good at running away when he has things he knows he shouldn't.  We played the Wii until way too late....and finally went to sleep.

Andy and I had to get up at 4:30 on Sunday because we didn't have anyone to cover our Sunday School class.  There was a bit of a miscommunication last week....I assumed Andy had asked someone to cover our class because he always does.  He thought he asked me to ask someone.  But he didn't, so I didn't.  So we made a miserable drive home from 5-8.  I chose to skip Sunday School because I felt like death warmed over.  I went to bed and stayed there until noon.  Andy went to Sunday School, and I honestly don't know if he went to church or came home.  That's how asleep I was.  We didn't do much....I eventually went to the grocery store, but I think that's about all that happened.  We watched Avatar (I watched about 35 percent with my eyes closed), and I finished reading Angie Smith's new book.  And sobbed through it.  And finally I went to bed, ready for the new week.  

I love the DVR because sometimes commercials make me throw up.

A sign of all that’s wrong with the world (or at least the US):

KFC’S Double Down.  Really?  Yuck.  The saddest thing about this picture?  Someone actually ate that.

BK—The Steakhouse XT.  Because we need extra thick beef with our bacon.

And the TRIPLE BACONATOR.  Or heart attack in a wrapper.

My stomach hurts just looking at them.

Weekly Update 4/ 12-18

Here is a peek at the last week in the Cook house:

Last Monday, I stayed home sick from school.  I had some serious abdominal pain that kept me up most of the night and was in no shape to spend the day with high school students.  So instead I spent it with little Oliver, who can be quite needy himself.  We watched lots of episodes of Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood together, and made it through our day a-okay....which was good, since Andy didn't get home from work until after 8 that night.

On Tuesday, I returned to school, and my students were so excited to see me.  Okay, that might be an exaggeration.  Actually, it totally is.  They had to turn in essays on Tuesday, so they didn't love it.  I kind of feel like I went to the gym and we watched episodes of "Better Off Ted" (hilarious show--I still have no idea when it was on for real) on Netflix on Demand.

Wednesday is always a busy day around our house.  We started last Wednesday particularly busy--when I realized we hadn't finished our taxes.  So I had to rush to write the checks and Andy addressed the envelopes so we could mail away our money (obviously, it wasn't really ours....we had to give it back).  After school, I had a staff meeting where I learned how to properly dispose of contaminated gloves.  I also spent hours upon hours working on a grant project that has to be presented to a representative from the state late next week.  I'm pretty excited about it.  I've done a lot of the work for my group, and it's really shaping up to look good.  I told Andy that if my name is going to be on something, I need to make sure it is perfect.  I realize that's a bit prideful on my part...Wednesday night we had youth group.  We played "duck, duck, goose" and I continued in my streak of getting injured during youth group games.  First I twisted my ankle funny and it was throbbing a bit.  Then Andy wiped out right into me, and bruised my shoulder a bit.

Then came Thursday, which I think is the hardest day of the week.  Andy went out to the campground to ride ATVs with people from work (I don't really do the campground...it's not my favorite place) and I stayed home with Oliver.  Andy lost his cell phone while he was out (making the total number of phones he's lost 2, and me? 0)  I worked on more grant stuff and got caught up on some DVR'd shows.  I also realized that Lauren Graham has dated her daughter's English teacher in the last two shows she's been on--Gilmore Girls and Parenthood.  Coincidence?  Or are English teachers just really that awesome? :)

Friday was a looooong day at school.  I get squirrely, the kids get crazy, and things just seem to drag on forever.  Friday night we had small group, and it was just a wonderful time.  I feel like our little group is really bonded, and that's just a great thing.  Prime bonding example: we ate every bite of food that was brought.  There was seriously nothing left from the taco salad.  It was crazy.  I have my suspicions that dessert was entirely consumed as well, but I didn't check....we didn't get home until after ten, so I feel like I sort of fell asleep shortly afterward.

On Saturday we were up and at em early, and we went to Indy for the day.  We took Ollie to meet Andy's parents (and their dog, Keegan, of course).  The first thing little Ol did upon meeting Keegan was to bite him in the back leg.  Then he promptly ignored Keegan as Keegan chased him, sniffing and drooling.  Andy's mom played with Oliver in the backyard, having him chase her all over.  We got sushi for the first time in WAY TOO LONG.  Andy got a haircut for the first time in WAY TOO LONG.  Keegan spent the rest of the day being afraid of Oliver (there is a serious size difference between those boys--Keegan could knock Ollie over....but Oliver was totally the agressor).  We took Oliver to meet Andy's grandpa.  I love spending the day at Andy's parents--it's always so relaxing.  I played with my camera in their backyard, trying to use my zoom lens as a macro to get some up close shots in their flowerbeds.  I'm not sure how they turned out--if I have some good ones, I'll post them later.  We came home late that night....I think it was past midnight when we got back.  I do know Andy surprised me by pulling off the interstate and going to Starbucks, which was a fun little treat.

Yesterday, Sunday, was exhausting.  We were up for church and Sunday School (and we had to be there early because Andy was in the praise band).  We got invited to the college kids lunch, since only four college kids made it to church.  Then we went to Lowes (for the first time) to get some landscape fabric, mulch, and stones to build a fire pit.  We came home, I attempted to weed (it didn't happen so well) and Andy started working on the new flower garden we're building.  There is a whole section of our backyard where grass won't grow (trees, roots, shade) so we have decided to make it a flower bed.  What we didn't realize was that the space he carved out is probably equivalent to the square footage of the house.  We laid the landscape fabric and mulch we had bought, and laughed.  It didn't cover a tenth of the area.  So we went back to Lowes for trip number two.  They were sold out of the original mulch (it was a good deal--2 dollars for 2 cubic feet).  So we had to buy a different one, which ended up being a very different color.  We also discovered that our next door neighbor had been given a rooster.  A very loud rooster.  Who crowed for a very long time yesterday (and very early this morning)  In between all that, I also cleaned and dusted most rooms of the house (excluding the offices) and did four loads of laundry (which totally would have been 8-10 with the old dryer).  At 7 last night, we ran out of that mulch, and attempted to go back to Lowes.  But they were closed.  So we came home.  Andy then built a fire pit in the backyard and built himself a campfire.  I started grading essays....the ones that were turned in on Tuesday....and that' pretty much how things went until I went to bed at 10.

Apparently my laundry isn’t so picked up…

Since I just walked into the living room to find four dirty socks that I know were in our bedroom.  All nice and neat in a pile.

Almost like someone played with them and carried them there while I wasn’t paying attention to him.

Silly Ollie.  What a goof.  Right now, he’s lying in his cage all nice and sweet-like.  I think he likes it there.  It’s his cozy place.  I wish I could take a picture, but Andy stole my camera.

I love this little guy.  He’s so much fun.

Lunchtime Success

We were invited at the last minute today to have lunch after church.  A couple at our church had prepared lunch for the college students, but none of them made it to church today.  They had a whole lot of spaghetti, and no one to eat it.

So they invited a few others instead.  Unfortunately, I can’t eat regular spaghetti, and I hadn’t had time to prepare any of the gluten-free kind.  And it takes a lot longer to cook than regular (17 minutes instead of 8).

But I did have a bowl with some cooked quinoa left.  And I figured it was worth a shot….and it really wasn’t too bad at all.  Definitely not quite the fun or the taste of spaghetti and meatballs…and I really wanted a piece of garlic bread.  But it worked and I’m feeling quite content a few hours later (the large amount of dark chocolate M&Ms I ate for dessert might have helped that). 

I felt like a dork showing up with a ziploc baggie of my own food, but I figure I’ll get used to that soon enough. 

Score.

Ollie’s first week home

Ollie Peepants has officially been a part of our family for one week today.  His name shall be Ollie Peepants  until he stops relieving himself on the carpet.  Then I’ll call him something else….because I am notorious for changing nicknames every 12 weeks or so….just ask Andy, his name changes constantly.

Oliver has been a good little boy this week.  He eats his food, drinks his water, plays like a happy boy, and is extremely affectionate.  He has started to develop a liking for cords (specifically speaker wire, my blow dryer, and my mouse) and my brown Merrells.  Those shoes are my favorite for long weeks at school, so they are up right now.  No way I’m letting him near them.

This week has been swamped.  I am sinking fast at school—the other ninth grade teacher and I do the same lessons, so we’ve been redesigning our curriculum for the last eight weeks of school (we made The Odyssey last that WHOLE time—I am so excited).  She is also the yearbook coordinator, and she has been swamped with deadlines, so I took on the ninth grade stuff and have been doing most of the lesson development.  On top of that, we are both busy grading a longer story project, and I am trying to finish up a grant presentation that’s due in two weeks.  So….my days have been FILLED.  I think by the end of this coming week, I should have a better handle on everything, and get back to normal.

Speaking of school, yesterday one of my students was trying to type the sentence, “Mrs. Cook is my ninth-grade English teacher.” but the computer kept changing it to, “Mrs. Cook is my ninth-grade anguish teacher.”  I laughed so hard I was tearing up.  I laughed and told the class, “I am Mrs. Cook, your anguish teacher, come prepared for torture on Monday.”  Thankfully they laughed too, instead of just staring blankly, which often happens.  I don’t know how many times I have to tell them that I’m funny…they just don’t always listen.

I think we have a quiet weekend.  I need to do laundry and go to the gym and grade papers and probably weed the flowerbeds.  Oliver is asleep on my lap right now; Andy went back to bed after he took Oliver out.  Once the boys wake up, I can get started on my day. 

Introducing Oliver