good vs. bad

today i am grumpy, grouchy and grumbly. i'm trying to live "come what may and love it" but all i want to do is complain and wallow and be grouchy and eat cookies.

so, i'm going to vent...vent about the good and the bad going on.

the bad (that really isn't so bad, but seems mega-super-stressful because i am a mega-super-stressed individual)

• the drivers' side window in our car won't roll up and the door won't open. serious. it is stuck. this is due to the minor accident i had on I-15 before Christmas Break....where i 180'd into a mile meter on the right shoulder on a snowy blistery day. this means that i have FREEZING car drives to work and back (yesterday it was 25 degrees)...but what's worse is that people look at me all suspiciously as i crawl into the car through the passenger door. it sucks. now, if this is hard for me, imagine what it's like for M. funny mental picture, huh?
• it is still January. what a bleak month. cold. holidays are far away. flowers are far away. back to the grind. can it be over yet?
• due to pregnancy, post pregnancy, and nursing horomones, i've lost a considerable amount of hair...chunks and chunks, actually. well, now it's starting to grow back. should be a good thing, right? well, think again. i have these little teeny hairs all around my face and the top of my hair that i have no idea what to do with....it's starting to resemble a mullet (short on top, party in the back). what the heck can i do to resolve this issue???
  
• i am a full-time student AND teaching so that i can get my teaching license by the end of this school year. i know, i know, people do it all the time. but not people like me. i'm a stress-case. i forgot how time-consuming it is to be a full-time student. i love learning...and am so excited to receive my license... but really, my head might explode with all of the info running around my little brain right now....lists, due dates, exam dates, assignments........BAH. i can't think about it for the time being or else i might eat an entire pint of ben & jerry's...which leads me to my next bad:
• it's been almost a whole month...and i still haven't made it back to the gym. serious. what will motivate me? why is it so hard to get out of my cozy bed in the dark bleak winter?
  
• my principle is observing me teach today...and i am still fighting off this terrible migraine. please, migraine, will you buzz off? thanks.
• parent teacher conferences are next week. i don't even want to go there.
  

ok, now that i feel even more frustrated and validated in my frustration, i need to count my blessings and tell the good that is going on so i can feel better:

• Ellie is crawling..and walking along things. she LOVES to look at books and read stories, too. it is so cute how you can just see her little brilliant brain working. she also is eating cheerios, and trying to learn to self-feed, which is quite possibly the funniest experience ever. this is by far the funnest, cutest stage of all. i really wish i had a giant pause button to push because i am loving this phase so much.

{toldja she is cute}

• we are so blessed to have such wonderful families. M's family who is helping him finish school, my family who is helping me finish school... my mom who comes every Friday to watch Ellie while i teach...and Jeffy who comes by whenever we need him (which seems pretty frequent these days). we are so lucky to have such wonderful families.
• january IS almost over. i know you probably think i'm joking, but i really do NOT like january.
• LOST is on tonight. i know.
• only 4 more months of being a working mom! i can do it, i can do it! i ache for the day i'll get to stay home with little E and run my chaotic home exactly how i want it.
  
• and though i'm excited for it to end, i am sad too, because i have been so blessed to have this experience of teaching kindergarten. what a wonderful school i am at this year- we have so much fun! and my students are AMAZING and HILARIOUS. i will definitely miss my friendships and interactions with my 5-year old buddies.
• M has a job lined up for the fall..which is perhaps the biggest blessing of all in this crazy economic crisis we are living in. so while i am nervous for the big move, i know the heavens are watching over us in providing this opportunity for our little family.
• ok, i lied, the biggest blessing of all is that i have an M to stabilize my craziness....while i am the crazy, rambunctious, get-stressed-at -the-drop-of-a-hat individual, M is the calm, peaceful, reassuring, never-gets-stressed-about-anything type of dude. i'm so grateful we're not both full of fire...because that would make for a very explosive relationship...instead, he is the water and i am the fire...and he is constantly calming me down when i am bursting out of control. how i love my handsome dude.

ok, thanks for letting me murmur...and then count my blessings. i'm feeling much better now that i got all of that out in the internetness. and now i'm going to stop wasting time, go clean something, take an excedrin and hold little E...and hopefully i'll be back to my normalized human self in no time.

signing off,

stressed-out Marci

a migraine made me do it.

we played hooky today...from all of our responsibilities at church and adulthood...and i blame it on my friend who visits every now and again: miss Mia Graine. while i hate the constant pounding, teary eyes, nauseousness and hammering Mia brings into my life, it was kinda nice to have an excuse to just veg out, make pizza, listen to the rain/snow/slush fall down from the sky, hang out with my parents who came to console me in my sickness, play peek-a-boo all day long with Princess Ellie (who just gets cuter and cuter and more and more fun, by the way), and watch You've Got Mail and Music and Lyrics and other weird stuff that came on tv...

is anyone else's entire life put on hold when a migraine comes to town?

thank goodness for raindrops and roses and pizza and extra long bubble baths on days like these.




p.s. Ellie has come out of her blogging hiatus...visit her blog for some new fun updates by clicking here (not invited? just ask, i'd love to send you an invite).

world wide web.

i realized something this last weekend:
i'm an addict.

an addict to the computer.
each day, i go through the normal website checklist:
email...check.
my blog....check.
ellie's blog....check.
baby steals....check.
whiskey militia....check.
facebook....check.
my blog again...check.
my email again...check.
you tube...check.

the list really could go on and on.
and really, it is pretty ridiculous.
i realized just how ridiculous it was when i left my computer at my school this last weekend...and had to survive 4 whole days without it.

it was rough in the streets.

i had about 30 seconds with the thought: "this is actually kind of nice to just BE without being connected 24-7." well, that thought died as soon as i wanted to google my lesson for Sunday, or the phone number for Red Robin, or the movie reviews for Bedtime Stories, or a pizza dough recipe that one of you fabulous readers gave me a few months ago.... yeah, i can't live without the internet.

so to celebrate my addiction, i give you this hilarious video, brought to you by the wonderful YOU TUBE.



oh, and a picture of my cute Ellie, too (uploadable to blogger, thanks to the world wide web)

officially pathetic.

jack bauer is back (and tony almeida....insert WOO HOO here).
simon, paula and randy are back.
mr. bachelor (aka JASON) is back.
pam, jim, michael, dwight, etc are back.
dr. gregory house is back (well, almost).
jack, kate, sawyer, hurley, etc are back (well, almost).

and i am....officially pathetic.
and am wondering how in the world i am going to keep up with this ridiculous fetish i have with television.

oh yeah, i have a DVR.
oh yeah, i might need therapy.

a day in the life...

of my 7 month-old Ellie.
(yes, she is SEVEN months today. yikes bikes)

{her face every morning between 6:15 am to 6:30 am...waking up from a FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP...yes, she's still sleeping through the night...insert HUGE jump for JOY and a LOUD shout HOORAY here}

{a good feeding follows a fun-filled bath}

{and some more delicious food...which could range from rice cereal, pears, bananas, apples, and mangoes}

{then it's time to play with her friends. sometimes they dress alike}

{and sometimes she likes to give her friends kisses}


{she'll even say mama and dada now...my brother got it on video. we're still questioning if she really knows what mama and dada mean though...}

{she's learning to multi-task...crawling AND playing with toys at the same time}

{which gets pretty exhausting....and means it's probably time for a morning nap}

{after morning nap, she usually wakes up pretty happy...and is ready for something new to do...like taking out the DVD's and throwing them all over the front room}

{or maybe finding a cool box}

{that she can sit in}

{and of course chew on}

{which means she is probably hungry for another snack...she's a mama's girl when it comes to her love affair with dried mangoes}

{then she lays her eyes on this bad boy full of toys...and decides...i want that.}
{so she kneels in front of the box...and finds a toy or two...and realizes...that she's tired again. time for afternoon nap}


{but don't worry...she wakes up happy... ready to play and smile like a super star}

{and of course, explore that extra big box of toys she was dreaming about}

{so many choices! it's hard for her to decide}

{and before she knows it, it's time for her favorite time of day again...bath time ...yes she gets TWO A DAY...she has the most beautiful skin, so why not!}

{after bath time, it's her most favorite thing to put on a little "show" and climb all around the crib...}

{and fall}

{she loves "ooos" and "aahhhs" and claps for all of her acrobatics and climbing}

{she also has discovered how tasty the railing is}


{then, it's time to chillax with daddy}

{and mommy, while watching baby einstein...she is currently LOVING 'baby's first signs'}

{and loves watching it REALLLY close}

{and gets really sad when it's over and it's time for bed...}

{but looks so cute and cuddly when she's faasssstt asleep}.

i love you, sweet Elizabeth! happy 7 months. please, will you stop growing now?? i like you the way you are...


xoxo

withdrawals.

i am going through withdrawals.
and i'm not talking about the atm.
i'm talking about:

sugar withdrawals.

family withdrawals.


guitar hero, world tour withdrawals.



seeing my ellie 24-7 withdrawals.


letting myself be lazy-hazy-nazy withdrawals.


summer withdrawals.


spending time with M (other than talking about whether or not ellie pooped or what time she took her ibuprofen) withdrawals.


christmas withdrawals.


ugh. it's always a bit bleak to think the holidays are 11 months away.

an un-manic monday

3 things made just another manic monday not so...manic...

1. i saw a chicken cross the road. for reals. on the way to school. and it wasn't even the first time this has happened this school year.i almost stopped and asked him the question of all questions, "for the record, just why are you crossing the road?" but he was too quick for me.

2. i had the following conversation with one of my little five year old girls:

"Mrs. Chapman, Mrs. Chapman! i have the best news!"

"cool! what is it?"

"my coat is strong enough to survive TOMATOES!"

"tomatoes!? what do you mean!?"

"my coat is SO strong it can survive TOMATOES!"

"wow. like people throwing them at you??"

"oh wait! silly me." puts hands in face and giggles. "i meant TORNADOES!"

3. these are back at costco.

don't pretend you're not excited.



ok, ok, i know that was 3 already...but this cute thing makes any manic day un-manic.


and yes, she's crawling. more on that to come shortly.


happy un-manic monday to all of you.

xoxo

dear 2008,

i feel like i didn't even get to say good-bye (probably because i fell asleep before midnight...heaven knows i'm not a night person)...you came and went faster than i could say jiminie cricket. we survived a lot together...and shared so many good times together. remember?

we survived the first year teaching together...having snack time, story time, potty breaks, laughing, making copies, lesson plans, behavior plans, and making more 5 and 6 year old friends than we could have ever imagined. you helped me see that 5 year olds can easily learn to learn anything, and can love to love anyone. you helped me see that in many ways, i should be more like a 5-year old.

we finally said good bye (after three years) to playing the piano in the primary. it was a good, bittersweet change for us. you taught me that the Lord has a time and a place for everything.

we continued our love-affair with television...as we discovered many new shows we love, including (but not limited to) Rob & Big (so sad it's off the air), So You Think You Can Dance, Lost, The Office, American Idol, House.......really, should i continue? you helped me realize how pathetic i am that i get so engrossed in fictional characters...and in people's lives who don't even know i exist. sigh.

we saw my waist get bigger than any waist ever should get with my first pregnancy. we survived cravings, mood-swings, swollen feet, barfy snarfiness, stretch marks, and...the crazy loco-ness anxiety that comes with post-term deliveries. you helped me learn patience and endurance.

then, we survived LABOR, something i was convinced was the scariest, crazily painful, most horrible experience EVER...and was actually quite the opposite (though pain was most certainly present). you helped me feel empowered, strong, and brave.

then we shared holding a sweet piece of heaven in my arms for the first time...and you showed me in those first few moments how miraculous it felt to be a mom.

we made new friends together, cherished old friendships, and reconnected with lost friends. you helped me remember how important friends are not only every once in a while, but every day.

we discovered the world of reading all over again. we read several books...books on pregnancy and nursing, the twilight series, the sharon hale books...and many, many more. you gave me an escape to a world that i had somehow forgotten how much i loved.

we watched me and M's 3rd wedding anniversary come and go...and we finally felt graduated from the newlywed phase...though the love grows on! you gave me peace of mind knowing that the first three years of our forever have been the best of my life. can't wait to see what the next 3 (x's 1,000) bring.

we moved away from my comfort bubble together for the summer...and enjoyed the adventure of M's first real job. we enjoyed the company of M's family for longer than just a few days (for once) and were blessed by their love and support of our new little Ellie. you made me realize how essential family is among life's crazy changes.

we started work as a mom together. while i felt scared and inadequete to the task, you helped me feel peace with myself as a working mom. you helped me realize that i'll appreciate being home when the time is right....and feel less anxiety since M was able to stay with E while i was away. you also helped me realize that things always work out...even if it's not exactly how we imagine it.

we transitioned to a new school together...and realized that while change is often scary, it is also often wonderful. we made many new friends, learned many new things from so many experienced teachers, and grew to love yet another bunch of hilarious 5-year olds. you allowed me to feel loved and important, and thankful for my new associations and friendships.

we survived our first highway car-breakdown...and can honestly look back on it with laughter. you helped me fully understand and accept the phrase: "come what may and love it," even though it can be difficult.

we shared birthdays, holidays, labors, out of town visits, carrides, illnesses, reunions, concerts, and so much more with our wonderul families. you let me feel loved and blessed by the ones i truly love...and helped me remember, life is meaningless without family.

we watched Ellie grow...from the chunky monkey she was born as, to the cry cry cry, bounce-a-holic, to the sweet smiley Pebbles she was on Halloween, to the wiggly, squirmy, stubborn, strong-willed, adorable, incredibly lovable baby E she is today. you helped me see that LOVE is an exponential thing...that grows and grows and grows....faster...and bigger than you could ever expect.

and so, 2008, you were quite a year...and quite a friend. i miss you already- as you'll always be the year i became a mom for the first time...and thus really found my heart for the first time. love you forever,

your friend,
Marce

xoxo