Happiness Is...

The Muppets - Must See

We just returned home from a family outing to see "The Muppets."    If you haven't seen this movie, you MUST see it.  Especially if you were a Muppet fan back in the day.  To convince you that I'm right and you should see it, I've compiled a list of 9 reasons why its worth your time.  

1.  Kermit the Frog is the eternal, good-hearted, optimist.  He has always been the brains of the operation as well as the voice of reason.  No matter how hard the situation is, he always accepts the challenge and gives it his best.  Even in moments of defeat he maintains his dignity and vows to move on and do better if there is a next time.  Kermit has a good heart.  He shows concern for the people (muppets) around him.  He's a good role model for our very self-centered world.

2.  The Muppets are a great example of how effective team work can be if people cooperate and give their all to accomplish their goal.  There are some disagreements, but they are always talked out and a compromise is reached in the end.  Another good life lesson to show our kids that it's okay to disagree, but you need to be respectful and work it out.

3.  Fozzie's fart shoes.  This is self-explanatory.  My kids are still laughing at them.  

4.  This is the only time you'll ever hear "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sung by a barbershop quartet.  Take a moment to form a mental picture of a muppet barber shop quartet singing that song.  Yes, it's that funny.  

5.  It's good, clean family fun.  There are no bad words, half naked women, or innapropriate "love" scenes in this movie.  Of course you wouldn't expect those things in a Muppet movie, but you never know how depraved filmmakers can be these days.  I was thrilled to sit through a movie with my kids and not have to worry about those things.  

6.  The songs.  I do love those Muppet songs.  It made my heart happy to see Kermit the Frog in his boat with his banjo singing "The Rainbow Connection."  So what if I cry every single time I hear it.  Don't judge me.

7.  Jim Henson was a genius.  It's hard to believe one man is responsible for the greatness that is The Muppets. 

8.  The underdog becomes the hero.  I always love a good underdog story.  Walter is a boy/man struggling to find his identity throughout the whole movie, and, in the end, conquers his fear and appears to be the reason the Muppets save their studio.  I've never seen anybody whistle quite like Walter can.  

9.  The 9th and final reason that I can think of for you to see "The Muppets" is simply being taken back in time.  It felt so good to see those Muppets on the screen in front of me again.  I loved them when I was a kid (thanks to my aunt Bonnie) and seeing them again brought back a lot of great memories of my childhood.  It made me a little sad to think of how the quality of children's entertainment has deteriorated over the years.  This world could use more Kermits, Fozzies, Walters, and all the rest of those loveable Muppets.  

This is good entertainment.  Go see "The Muppets."  You'll thank me.  

Meet UT's Newest Superfan

On Monday night, Collin became UT"s newest (and cutest) superfan.  He was so excited about all the Longhorn merchandise at the Co-op!  He chose a baseball cap that he wore at the hex rally, and has pretty much worn it ever since.  He even asked me to wash the clothes he was wearing so he can wear them again on Thanksgiving.  I bought myself a longhorn puppet that plays the Texas fight song, and he's decided he must have it, so I guess I'll have to buy myself another one!  Proud mom moment!  Hook 'em!

For the Last Time...Maybe

On Monday night Cole, Brendan, Collin, and I went to what will probably be the last hex rally at UT.  I've read conflicting reports about whether or not Texas and Texas A&M will continue to play, and I didn't want to miss it just in case it's the last one.  And I wanted the kids to experience it with us.  Kaelin was at a birthday party so she missed it.  I really wanted her to go because she's decided (with a little brainwashing from our assistant principal) she's going to TCU.  I have nothing against TCU, but it would be nice to raise 3 Longhorns.  We'll see how that turns out.  

Just for grins, this picture is from the hex rally in 1992:

That's Karen, me, and Jennifer.  I hadn't yet met Cole when this picture was taken.

 

This picture was taken Monday night:

What a difference 20 years makes!!

To start the night we ate at Texadelphia on the Drag.  One of the first places Cole and I went when we first started dating was that very Texadelphia.  The day we went it was so crowded that we had to stand up to eat.  Cole has no memory of this, but I remember it.  It wasn't quite so crowded Monday night. 

After we ate we did some shopping on the Drag.  We went to Tyler's so I could get some Toms, which are very comfortable, by the way.  And then, of course, we went to the Co-op.  Collin found a UT baseball cap that fit him just right and he had to have it.  Then it was off the hex rally.  We arrived an hour early - with the other old people - so we were able to stand against the barrier.  We were off to the side, but we had a good view of the speakers, the band, the dancers, and the football players.  

It was really good to see all the players who have taken the field week after week and given their all, even though it's been kind of a tough season.  I was especially happy to see Fozzy Whittaker up there.  When he got hurt it was kind of like the national championship all over again - hopes for a great season were certainly in jeopardy.  His absence has definitely had an impact.  It was fun to see Tray Allen - he's the one we met at the baseball fields last spring when he was working as an umpire.  

Here's proof that we're raising them right:

So that was our night at what might be the last-ever hex rally.  I'm so glad we went.  It brought back so many good memories of my college years.  And I felt that Longhorn pride all over again.  There's nothing like being on campus with hundreds of other people in burnt orange...cheering for the Horns and letting them know we'll be cheering for them again on Thursday.  I loved looking to the side of me and behind me and seeing nothing but rows and rows of people with their horns up.  No matter what happens on Thursday, it's good to be a Longhorn.  Hook 'em!  

This Cracks Me Up

 

Attention Fellow Migraine Sufferers...Your Thoughts, Please

Today I went to my doctor (P.A., really, but it's easier to say doctor) about the migraine I had yesterday morning that left me without 25% of my field of vision for about 3 hours.  One second I could see fine, and the next second I had this big blind spot...it was freaky.  And it's the third time it's happened.  If you've never experienced anything like it, I don't think I can make you understand just how unsettling that feeling is. 

Because I've been getting migraines for so long, and because I have such a genetic history of them (lots of the girls on Mom's side of the family get them), I was hoping the referral to a neurologist would come up, and it did.  So I have an appointment in December to see a neurologist about these migraines.  This is where I need to here from my fellow migraine sufferers.  I'm aware that every chronic migraine sufferer eventually goes to a neurologist...it just seems to be the progression of things.  But what I don't know is what the neurologist does.  

Does the neurologist run tests?

Does the neurologist rule out other, possibly more serious causes?

Does the neurologist push preventive medicine?

Does the neurologist presecribe additional medicine for treatment?

Does a neurologist typically frown on alternative forms of therapy for migraines?

Does being treated by a neurologist help migraines at all?

Basically, I know the reasoning behind going to neurologist, I just don't know if it will make much of a difference.  Thoughts, comments, opinions, experiences are welcome!   

Tis the Season...

I had one tonight, and it was delicious, but somehow it just didn't taste as good as the peanut butter eggs.  I know it's the exact same candy, but the eggs taste better than the pumpkins and the Christmas trees.  Not that I'm complaining...the pumpkins are still yummy!  I guess it's just one of those unsolved mysteries...

Anyone Else Awake at 11:00 on a Sunday Night?

I went to bed 2 hours ago, went to sleep an hour and a half ago, and woke up an hour ago.  This happens to me quite often, but usually I can go back to sleep pretty quickly.  Not so tonight.  So here I am...awake at 10:55 on a Sunday night.  Full week of work and kids' activities ahead of me.  This is not a great way to start.

So since I couldn't sleep I thought I'd do some blogging.  Not blogging any of the fabulous posts that I have rolling around in my head (I always have posts rolling around in my head, I just usually don't get them posted), just blogging whatever comes to mind.  

I'm having a major allergy attack right now, which probably added to the sleep problem.  I went by Wal-Mart earlier and bought some Claritin, but it's the non-drowsy kind so I didn't take it because I was afraid it would keep me up.  See how well that plan worked?  Now I'm awake anyway and I still have a stopped up nose.  So now, in an effort to combat both problems, I'm sipping some of my sleepytime tea...hoping it really does, in fact, put me to sleep, and the heat and steam will let me breathe again.  I'll have to wait and see how that goes.  

Yesterday I downloaded this book on my Kindle:

 It's a book narrated by a 15 year old autistic boy who finds his neighbor's dog dead.  I thought it might give me some perspective that would be useful for my job.  So far it has.  I really want to be able to help the autistic kiddos that I work with and I've been reading everything I can get my hands on.  I like this one because it's fiction and I'd rather read fiction than non-fiction any day.  But I'm still learning so that makes it even better.

*For some reason Typepad is not recognizing the rest of my paragraphs, so I'm changing the font color for each one.  Oh, technology, you give me such a headache sometimes!!*

In other job-related news...I was finally able to get my hands on an exercise trampoline to put in my classroom.  I've been looking for one on Craigslist since before the school year started and hadn't been able to find one.  You'd be surprised how scarce those things are.  They're close to $50 new and I just didn't want to spend that, so I was thrilled when I found one in the area for $15.  The nice lady who was selling it said there had been quite a bit of interest in it, but she said I got it because of why I needed it.  I'm really glad she let me buy it.  There were a couple of days last week that I thought one of my friends could have used one.  So now they'll have it when they need it.  

Tomorrow night is Mom and Collin night.  He wants to see "The Lion King" in 3D and then eat at Chili's.  That particular movie is my least favorite Disney movie, but that's what he chose, and I'm excited about getting to spend some time with him.  I've been working so much that I really haven't had much time to spend with my kids (major mom guilt here) and I think it's starting to take its toll on him.  He's always been a mama's boy (I love that about him) and he seems to need more attention from me than he's been getting.  There have been a lot of unexplained tears lately, and I really think that's why.  I miss seeing my kids as much as I used to so it's time to change that.  I knew the beginning of the school year would be like this.  Tuesday marks the end of what I have been referring to as my ARD marathon (8 ARDs in less than 4 weeks is a LOT for this newbie) and I'm ready for it to be OVER!  Hopefully after that, life in this house will return to normal again...whatever that is.  : )

So it's now 11:19 and my sleepytime tea is almost gone.  I feel a little sleepy, but I don't know how quickly I can fall asleep.  Brendan came downstairs about 10 minutes ago and informed me that his stomach hurts and he feels like he's going to throw up.  I told him there's nothing I can do to stop him from throwing up and please do so in the toilet.  I suppose I'll play on Facebook for a few minutes and then try to get some sleep.  Hopefully I can sleep for more than 30 minutes this time.

 

The Joy of Turning 40

Just a couple of hours ago I returned home from my second weekend of celebrating my 40th birthday.  My birthday is actually tomorrow.  I started celebrating early and will officially end my celebration after the David Crowder*Band concert on Wednesday night.  A month of celebrating is enough, right? 

A little over ten years ago, knowing that turning 30 was on the horizon, I dreaded it.  I was so unhappy to be leaving my 20's behind that I started dreading it on New Year's eve the year before...because I knew what 2001 meant for me.  I don't know why it bothered me so much, but it did.  So I dreaded it for 9 months and then 9/11 happened 15 days before my birthday.  After that turning 30 didn't seem like such a big deal. 

And at the time I really didn't know how I would react to turning 40.  And even though there are a lot of unhappy ways to view it, I'm actually really happy with where I am in life right now.  And I really have felt joy in turning 40.  Mostly because it's been a wonderful opportunity to look around and take notice of all of the amazing people in my life.  When I think about all of them I could not feel more blessed.  

The first weekend I celebrated my birthday with a party thrown by my friend, Angie.  The party was beyond words incredible and I will never be able to thank her enough for doing what she did to make my party so special.  And by doing so also making me feel special.  There's not a single thing about it that I would change.  

This past weekend I went to Dallas to attend the Night Ranger concert that I blogged about previously.  Valerie, Kelly, Karen, and Shelley went, too, and we had so much fun!  I finally got to meet Jack Blades, and, even though it didn't quite go the way I had hoped it would, I'm still excited about it.  Spending the weekend with those 4 was better than meeting Jack Blades, but both things make me smile.  

The joy of turning 40 has been a lot of things for me.  It's been my cousin, Jennifer, and my friend, Jen, who flew in from California to attend my party.  It's been my friend, Angie, who put her heart and soul into planning the perfect birthday party for me.  It's been Shelley, Karen, Kelly, and Valerie, who spent the weekend with me and spent a lot of money on those Night Ranger meet and greet tickets - among other things.  It's been Cole who hasn't complained about any of the celebrating (or the cost of it) and helped Angie as much as he could.  It's been my kids who have stepped up and helped prepare for the parties and clean the house more than they usually do.  It's been all the sweet gifts that people have given me.  It's been the celebrations that are 2 of my favorite events in the world - socializing and concerts.  It's been the hugs and the smiles and the early happy birthday wishes that I've already received.  It's the friendship and love that surrounds me.  

There really is joy in getting older.  I hope I never stop seeing it. 

Keith Urban - Get Closer Tour 2011

Last Sunday night Cole and I got to experience Keith Urban's Get Closer tour in Dallas.  Keith Urban didn't disappoint, and he just keeps getting better and better every time I see him live.  And just in case you've forgotten, when I saw him in 2009 I touched him.  As he walked directly in front of me.  Yep - I touched Keith Urban!! 

This time we didn't have floor seats, so there was no touching of Keith Urban, but it really didn't matter because he played for 2 hours and 15 minutes without stopping, involved the audience on numerous occasions and in some pretty unique ways, and pretty much just brought down the house.  

Due to the mechanical mishap with my good old Sony camera last Christmas Eve, it is no longer in working condition and it had to be replaced with a camera that doesn't quite have what it takes to get great concert shots, but I got some good ones.  Nothing quite like the little gem to the right (which was taken about 10 minutes after I touched him in 2009), but decent enough.  And it was actually kind of nice to not watch the concert through my camera lens.  I'm posting a few of the better ones at the end.

If you've never seen Keith Urban live - do it!  I sacrificed a night of sleep on a Sunday night (I had to work Monday) in order to attend this concert and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I can't understand why Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney keep beating him out for Entertainer of the Year.  I just find it hard to believe that they could put on a better show than he does.

The are 2 very happy teenage girls in the DFW area thanks to this concert.  One took a sign that said she wanted to hug him and he called her onstage and did just that.  And the other was given an autographed guitar while he was playing in the walkway of the section to her right.  I had never seen these two things done at a concert before and it was really pretty cool.  

Words can't describe it...you just have to be there.  And I'll be there again the next time he hits Texas no matter how much sleep I lose because of it.  He's that good!

 

1 3 5 8

Can you guess the significance of those numbers?  I was inspired by Lost.  But it has nothing to do with Lost.  Those numbers are in reference to my life...and today, which is far less interesting than Lost.  But still.  

Give up?  Here's what the numbers mean:

1 - my first day of school as a teacher

3 - Collin is in 3rd grade

5 - Kaelin is in 5th grade

8 - Brendan is in 8th grade.  

Earth-shattering, I know.

Today was a good day.  I was expecting my kiddos to have at least a meltdown or two, but nothing like that happened.  I did spend a good part of my morning in a kindergarten class that kept us hopping.  God bless you kindergarten teachers - you really do deserve an extra $20,000 or so.  I won't deny that I'm stressed about learning all about special ed paperwork, but lots of people have learned it, so I suppose I can, too.  I really enjoyed meeting some of my kids for the first time and seeing the ones again that I met previously.  I'm very excited to spend this year with them, hopefully being successful in helping them be successful in learning to function in a world they don't quite understand.  

The hardest thing for me - the mom part of me - was to not be able to walk Kaelin and Collin to class and take their picture.  Cole had to do it and he didn't take half as many pictures as I usually do, but he did take some pictures.  They both requested their picture be taken outside the classroom rather than inside, but I can live with that.  Of course, there are no pictures of Brendan on his first day of 8th grade.  Maybe Cole can take a couple tomorrow - his 2nd day of 8th grade. : )

Here are Kaelin and Collin before leaving the house:

Cookie was caught peaking out the window beside the front door:

Here's Kaelin in her new outfit from Justice.  She got it in exchange for not going to Fiesta Texas with the reading ticket she earned last year.  

And here's Collin:

Pictures taken at school: