Inspector Catty and Daddy

So, I had the total case of the "Mondays" today. . . until about 3:30pm.

• I woke up sick this morning. Egh.
• The kids were crazy. They had a case of the "Mondays" too.
• My check engine light is on AGAIN after weeks of dealing with the dealership, the insurance, the autobody shop, and rental car people.

However, there was a great part of the day. Actually, it was so awesome. I had my first inspection for my new condo earlier today at 3:30, and I instantly forgot all of my Monday woes. As soon as the bell rang, I left school and met my dad at the condo, and arriving there was all so wonderful! We looked around the the unit and found just a couple of knicks and scratches here and there, but nothing that a painter can't fix. Then I got back to my current apartment, and as soon as I walked in, I thought, "Man, get me out of this craphole!"

Here are a couple of pictures of my new home, and I can't wait for you all to see it in person. (Please excuse the quality. These were taken on my phone. I forgot my actual camera.) I should have taken more pictures. These pics do the new place no justice.


(The woman in the photos is the Veer Lofts representative, Deanna. She had a really sharp eye for things that my dad and I didn't see.)

TGIF!

Today we had a walking field trip to a P-Patch a couple of blocks away from our school. The children brought clipboards and a pencil so they can make observation drawings of the plants that were at the P-Patch. They've been so hyped about this field trip all week, and they were so fascinated by all the plants and creatures there. The entire trip took up 2 hours of our morning, and we were back in time for lunch.

When they got back from lunch, they were so grumpy! I think the field trip had exhausted them all, and there was constant arguing and tears, whining and tattling. They were all so tired that they just couldn't even handle the day anymore, and I had ended up having to put out so many fires.

I was consoling a child who was crying because he didn't have enough time to play on the monkey bars, and we were talking about the situation. He was crying hard enough to not be able to talk because of the stuttering inhale. I reached and gave him a prolonged hug, and as I was releasing from the hug, he dug his head into my stomach and wiped his nose on my sweatshirt! I looked down and took a deep breath, thinking to myself, "Oh HELL no! Are you kidding me?!"

It really was one of those "Calgon, take me away!" moments. I hope they all get good rest over the weekend.

Repeat Offender. . .

So, the same girl who tried to agree with me that she'd be good every OTHER day found herself having another discussion with Miss Picardal today. (I've actually had discussions with her every single day, but this one was particularly funny.)

During math time, the children use little mini white boards and dry erase markers for quick mental math problems. Each table has their own bin of white boards that they bring to their table during that time, and put away after we're done with mental math. Well, we had just finished the last mental math question and I instructed for everyone to put their white boards and their markers into the bins and one person from each table put the bin away.

So, she was in charge of putting her bin away for her table, and she was waiting on one person to put his materials in the bin. And so, in a robot voice, she kept asking the one person and just kept repeating, "Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. . ." Over and over and over again, and it was driving me absolutely up the wall. I said, "Excuse me (name), please stop saying that. When you keep saying it over and over again like that, it gets very annoying to the rest of us. You just need to ask once, and if he doesn't hear you, you can ask again."

She said, "Ok, like this? Put it in the bin."

I said, "Yes. Just like that."

She said, "Or how about like this? Put it in the bin." (She said it in a normal voice.)

I said, "Yes, that's fine too."

She said, "What about this? Put it in the bin." (In a robot voice again.)

I said, "Sure. . . "

She said, "Or maybe this? Put it in the bin." (In a happy voice.)

I said, "Ok."

She said, "Or what about this?. . ."

I said, "Now, you're repeating yourself again."

Let's make a deal.

So, the summer is over. Yes, it was great. I had family time, friends time, me time. I couldn't ask for more. I was so not looking forward to work again, mainly because I had to change classrooms (which any teacher knows is a complete pain in the you know what) and I switched teams too. To me, they were both changes that I really didn't want to happen, but I did it for the good of the school. (Yay me, right?)

We've finished 2 weeks of school. First week was the honeymoon phase--the children were just getting to know each other and me, so there was a lot of hesitation to be "their true selves." Now that we're starting to catch onto the routine and getting more comfortable in our surroundings, the personalities are starting to come out. This means, I'm starting to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. (No, it's really not that bad, but you know what I mean.)

There's this one girl in particular, who is just in her own little world and very social. My mom would tell me that I was this student when I was younger. You can tell she's always thinking of something else other than what she should be focusing on because she will, in the middle of a lesson, get up out of her seat and go to her backpack, or at any given moment bust out in song, or walk over to her friend and ask her a question, ask a question completely irrelevant to the topic, etc. Well, just the other day, I had to "redirect" her about 7 times in 10 minutes, which is truly not an exaggeration. So, during recess, we sat and talked about the importance of listening and how it effects her learning and the learning of the rest of the class, yada yada yada. Here is her response:

"Ok, Miss Picardal. I'll be good every other day."

As if it was negotiable. I would go on with what I said, but I thought that would be a good ending.

Rollin'

As part of my "trying to work it out" kick, I went for a run yesterday. My Auntie Lita, my Manong Mark and his family, Tin, Michael and my parents were coming to visit me and I wanted to get a quick run in to start my day. I had the day all planned out. I would wake up early, go for a run along Lake Union, go to the store and get some fresh fruit to serve, clean up my apartment, get myself showered and ready, the guests would arrive, and then I'd go with them to sight-see around Seattle. That was the plan.

I felt good about my plan. I even woke up earlier than scheduled and got a head start on my day. I put my workout clothes on, grabbed my iPod and I hit the ground running. I was on my way down Mercer Street about 5 minutes into my run, when all of a sudden my right foot hit a patch of crooked concrete and my ankle rolled. . . HARD. (I'd rolled my ankle before, but it had never hurt this bad.) So, I had to stop because at the time, the pain was quite excruciating. Then I realized that my only way back home was to walk. I didn't have my cell phone with me, so I couldn't call anybody to pick me up. I could have stopped in QFC and asked to use a telephone, but I don't remember any numbers of friends who live close by. After about 5 minutes of squatting on the sidewalk and holding my ankle in pain, I got up and started limping back home. . . in tears (because I'm a big baby).

The tears were a result of physical pain and mental frustration. My thoughts were, My ankle is in serious pain and I have to walk all the way home on it? . . . and DAMN! I won't be able to do all the things I planned to do today. . . and I just want my mom! The pain had intensified and my ankle started to swell pretty bad, so when I got home I sat on the couch and put ice on it. I called my parents, told them what happened, and cried to them about how my ankle hurt and how I was frustrated. Then Tin called and she and Michael suggested to wrap it. I told them that I didn't have any Ace Bandage-like wraps, so Michael said pajama pants would do. After looking through my drawers, I found some leggings. They were stretchy and more Ace Bandage-ish, so I opted for the leggings (Ghetto, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures). I sat on the couch for about an hour and half with my ankle wrapped and iced. It started to feel better, so I limped around to do a little tidying up and then got showered and ready for the guests to arrive.

When they arrived the ankle was topic of conversation. After consulting with 2 doctors (Auntie Lita and Manong Mark) and an athlete (Michael), I was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, so I'm out of commission for about 1-2 weeks (All my work out hopes and dreams are shattered). I knew I wouldn't be able to go around the city with everyone, but I really wanted to spend time with them. So, while my mom, Auntie Lita, Manong Mark and his family started walking to the Seattle Center, my dad drove Tin, Michael and me to Bartell's to buy an Ace Bandage and then he drove us to the Seattle Center to meet up with the rest of them for lunch. After lunch, I sat on a bench and watched Tin and Michael dominate the carnival games and win like 1000 prizes while the rest of them went up to the top of the Space Needle.

Although I didn't get to do the rest of the city tour with everyone, I was really thankful that they were willing to accommodate my gimp ankle. It was so nice to see everyone and hang out with them, even for just a short while.

Today my ankle feels different. There's not as much constant throbbing as there was yesterday, but it hurts more to walk on it. I'd put post a picture, but that requires me getting up and limping around to get my camera and the computer hook-ups, so pictures will have to come another time. . . Maybe in 1-2 weeks.

A Baby Story

My sister Mar put my nanny services to use this week. From 7am Monday morning to 8:30pm Wednesday evening, I was a live-in nanny at her and her husband's house to help her with Isaac and Mia while Vince was at work. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment. Much props to Mar and Vince for doing it every single day and night. You go!

Over the last 3 days I've learned that teaching a classroom full of 6 and 7 year old children is easier than raising 2 of my own. I've also learned to take advantage of their nap time because you are on the go every single second that their eyes are open. I've helped her out before, but not for any longer than 8 hours, so this was definitely a learning experience for me. Nevertheless, I had a ton of fun. I always have fun with those kiddos.

Yesterday we went to the University Village to play, eat, and shop a little. When we arrived there, Mar stayed in the car as she fed Mia and I took Isaac straight to the playground area. I almost had a heart attack at one point because I thought he was going to fall from the top of the big toy all the way to the ground. Luckily, he got to the top and turned right back around to backtrack his way down. After feeding, Mar and Mia met us at the playground. It was time for the rest of us to eat too, so we went to a pasta restaurant in he village to get Isaac some of his favorite dish--Mac and Cheese! We all ate until Isaac got full, which didn't take long at all. He started to get antsy, so we decided to look around the stores. Our first and only stop was Pottery Barn Kids. Isaac had a blast because of the basketballs and the basketball hoop. Even more fun for him was the pink kid-sized baby stroller, with which he managed to run over some strangers' toes. Because he was such a threat to shoppers, I had to take the stroller away from him and return it back to the corner where it belonged. As I was putting it back, Mar was trying to talk to me, and mid-sentence Mar stops and says, "Isaac?" and no reply. She says it again, and still no reply. We start looking around the store a little, and no Isaac. Finally, Mar looks outside and there he is walking away from the store. Yikes! We decided it was time to start heading back home.

We start making our way to the car, and I'm pushing Mia's stroller without Mia in it. So, behind me is Mar holding Mia in the Baby Bjorn and holding Isaac's hand at the same time. We pass through the courtyard where people are eating at little bistro tables, and there's music playing. All of a sudden I hear Isaac fussing and Mar saying, "C'mon, Isaac, let's go," and then I hear her laughing. I look back and Isaac had stopped in the middle of the courtyard to dance to the music ("Just Another Day" by John Secada. LOL), and everyone is watching. He danced for maybe a good 3 or 4 minutes, keeping the diners and other passers by quite entertained. In the middle of his show, Mar told me to get him, so I walked over there and reached for his hand and he pushed me away and continued dancing. I you can't beat them, join them, so I took a step back and started dancing with him and he pushed me away again! He totally loved being in the spotlight! All the while, Mia was peacefully sleeping in her Baby Bjorn. It was the cutest thing. This was most certainly one of the highlights of my last 3 days.

I recorded some of Isaac's impromptu performance on my phone. Enjoy the show!

Trying to Work it Out!

So, within the last year I have really been slacking on eating healthy and being active. Before that, I hardly ate any white rice, pasta, potatoes, or white bread. I ate much more wheat based pastas and breads, lots of fruits, veggies, and proteins, and I made sure to take a walk around the city or go for a run. I even joined 24 Hour Fitness and got a trainer for a couple of months. Last summer, I was in the best shape of my life. I could run forever, do at least 20 real push-ups, and I just felt really good inside and out. September came and it seemed like I just could not find any time or anymore energy to even put my workout clothes on. My students wore me out! I think I've actually run maybe 5 or 6 times within all these months. I just kept telling myself, "You've gone to work and the gym in the same day many many many times. It's possible! You have no excuses." But I felt so drained by the end of the day that I just couldn't do it. Now my clothes are a little more snug, some I don't even wear anymore, and I look at pictures of myself from this time last year and think, "I want to look like that again!"

Well, school is out and weather is gorgeous, so I've been making an effort to start running and working out again to get back into shape. Man, has it been really hard! Last summer, I was running for at least 45 minutes straight, sometimes twice or 3 times around Greenlake. I know I'm not going to run 45 minutes straight anytime this week, and it'll be a while building up to that, but I have to start somewhere. Right now I'm starting at 20 minutes, with intervals of different speeds to avoid monotony. As far as diet. . . Well, I'm still working on that. My diet could be much better than it is right now, but I find myself eating socially quite often. I yet have to cook a meal at home on my own since school has been out.

It's really just an energy cycle. When I work out and eat right, I have more energy and motivation to do it again the next day. When I don't work out and eat like crap, I have less energy and less or no motivation to get up and do anything. I'm not feeling super great about my condition quite yet because I know I have a ways to go, but I'm excited that I'm a day closer to getting back into shape and being healthier again. I'm definitely motivated to being a better and healthier me.