Thursday 3: April 19, 2018
This has been an unexciting week for me. After the hustle of returning to school and getting my students back into our routine, my professional focus has turned toward finishing up my last component for National Board Certification. As expected, I’ve put it off until the last minute and have a month to complete everything. Luckily, my scores for the other components I turned in are high enough that I believe all I have to do is get the minimum passing score on this component to become certified. This knowledge is not helping my procrastination! In other news, this is what I’ve been loving this week
This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you when you click on a link or make a purchase using the links in this post.
Every year, my mom planted bright red-orange geraniums in terracotta pots. Unfortunately, this winter many of her pots were knocked down by the wind and broke. Instead of buying new pots, I decided to plant geraniums in the flower bed in front of our house. It will be a nice reminder of my mom every time we pull into the driveway. (The random tulip blooming in the bed was just too pretty to pull out. And that frog is from a pond at our old house. My mom put it in that spot in the flower bed, so there it will be.)
Reminders of my mom have been popping up in the garden every week. First, the pink and purple hyacinth she must have planted last year began blooming. Then it was the deep purple tulips in a planter in the backyard. Finally, daffodils and pink tulips made their way out of the ground seemingly overnight. It’s amazing to me that these flowers managed to survive without her, as they haven’t been taken care of by me in any way. I didn’t even know they existed! On my to-do list is to weed the gardens, water the flowers, and learn how to be a green thumb.
My husband and I love the TV show Bosch on Amazon Prime. It’s about L.A.P.D. homicide detective Harry Bosch and his investigation of a crime over the course of a season. While he can be unconventional and his investigations can skirt the line between lawful and unlawful, Bosch ultimately wins over the viewers with his focus on finding the truth and providing justice for the victims. The show can be dark and visits the seedier areas of Los Angeles, so I don’t recommend this show if you don’t like your police procedurals gritty. Fun fact: My husband and I watched a few episodes of the second season while I was in labor in the hospital. We definitely got some disapproving looks from the nursing staff, as that particular season had Bosch talking to dancers at a strip club in Las Vegas. Not exactly baby friendly!
My daughter broke out in an angry mob of red, raised pinpricks on Tuesday. After my husband and I researched what the heck was going on with her on the internet and I sent pictures to my cousin who is a nurse and mom of three, we figured it was a viral rash. I took her to the doctor on Wednesday, hoping they would say she isn’t contagious anymore and can go back to daycare the next day. Well, that didn’t happen. The only thing about her that is probably contagious is any secretion, such as saliva, snot, poop, or pee, meaning she is definitely contagious in a daycare setting! Those toddlers crawl all over each other. So I am using up the rest of my sick leave this week to hang out with my not contagious to the general public but contagious to other toddlers daughter.
Today I took her to work with me to print my substitute lesson plans and get my room set up before we headed out to the tulip fields. When we arrived at Calhoun Road, I got out my fancy camera and found the battery was dead. I improvised with my cell phone, but am planning to go back tomorrow to get some good shots with my nice camera.
Next, we went to Old Navy, where I bought a lot of clothes for the little girl, two pairs of jeans for my husband, and one shirt I will most likely take back for me. I think it’s funny how I get more excited about outfitting my child than I do myself. I never thought my enthusiasm for shopping for myself would wane, but it surely has in the past year and a half.
As we left Old Navy, my little cutie spotted the Old Navy dog in the front of the store. She had to stop to pet it. This girl loves dogs and squeals every time she sees one in a book or in real life. This means we will probably be getting a dog soon.
After Old Navy, we shopped at Carter’s and Costco. Below are the totally adorable outfits and pajamas I bought at Old Navy and Carter’s. I was really digging yellow and navy blue today.
On the way home, the little miss fell asleep in her car seat. We got home before she awoke, so I pulled out a book and read for a while. When I heard her stir, I used the front-facing camera on my phone to peek back to see if she was still asleep. I realized that the crack on my screen protector over the camera lens created a cool effect, so I played around with it taking selfies. This is my best shot.
All in all, a good day. Days like these make me dream of being a stay-at-home mom. It’s such a struggle, isn’t it? I really enjoy working, but I really enjoy my kid, too. But then I remember we’ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed, and it becomes clear the struggle isn’t real after all.
