Last week till baby and first day of school

Okay, I know I'm silly, but SIX DAYS till baby comes!! Ah, the joy of scheduled birth. And the best news is is that it probably won't be a c-section since baby has officially turned and is nicely where she needs to be with her head down. =) Way to perform, baby! And for those who have asked, we still don't know what we'll call her, but last night we had a family vote on the list of possible names, and the two finalists are Serene and Aislynn (pronounced ash-lin). Trouble is Steve really doesn't like Aislynn and I'm not jumping up and down over Serene. Hmmm. So if anyone has any last-minute suggestions (nothing too ususual), we are definitely still accepting applicants, lol!

Last night was back to school night for the elementary kids and school starts today for everyone. Wow. This year even having two parents wasn't enough to take the kids to their new classes to meet teachers. Poor Marina had to wait and boy was she nervous that we'd miss her teacher. She definitely has learned something from her mother (and that said mother needs to really work on this) in that when she's nervous or stressed she gets a little short wit others. Funny how our best and worst are brought out in our kids. I think the kids have got good teachers, so we'll see how things go. At least I'll be in and out of the school a lot this year so I'll be able to check on things easily, unlike last year with student teaching and Simeon always with me. Love Sim, but it's hard to observe a teacher with a very active little boy bouncing off the walls. =) This year I've already started helping my friend Mckensie in resource and I'll keep helping her as much as I can, along with my kids' teachers, the principal, the PTA, etc. while I gain hours that will work toward points for recertification when my teaching license comes up for renewal in a couple years (I can do up to 150 hours of volunteer work for 50 points then I get to get the rest from PRAXIS tests and training/conferences. Joy!). Besides, it's one way to really sink myself into our new community! So here comes the new school year. =)

Plea for help

So if anyone's been to Orlando, Steve and I would love advice on what to do while toting a baby along. Even researching on the internet, it's a bit unclear which places are more rides and which would have sufficient non-roller-coaster-type things to make worth it. Bummer for Steve, I feel guilty for limiting his choices, but I just can't see myself leaving a newborn for about a week just two weeks after she's born! Also, advice on traveling around (i.e. busses, etc.) would be great. We're excited for the trip (even though my mental calculator is trying to drive me crazy with expenses), and today Steve should come home with exact info on our flights out and back, our hotel, his competition times, etc. We're heading out on a Thursday (Sept. 10), but then we get to hang around until he takes a written test on Friday. And then we're free again till Saturday (which will be all taken up) and Sunday (it's Sunday -- nuff said). We're taking Monday as a just do-whatever-while-we're-in-Orlando-for-probably-the-only-time-in-our-lives day, and then Tuesday morning we head home.

But right now, I'm thinking Sea World, Disney's Animal Kingdom, maybe Aquatica, and the obligatory beaches (which could be included in the other options here) as possibles. Opinions? If not, hey! Wish us luck (not to mention Steve luck in his driving competition), and we'll let you know how we come off, lol!

Despair.com

Ok, so this was funny. One of the presenters at a SPED law conference I just went to used some of the posters from this site. Just wanted to share a couple. =) Enjoy!