My favorite thiiiinnngggssss!!! (said in Oprah's voice)

As promised, here is a list of my top 20 favorite things! You get one, and you get one, and YOU GET ONE!

1. Climbing into a freshly made bed with clean sheets. Ahhh.

2. A deep red wine in the winter, a light white in the summer, and being in Napa any time of the year.

3. When I'm reading a book I can't put down.

4. Christmas lights.

5. The smell of pumpkin bread baking in the oven.

6. Seeing Calvin smile with his tongue sticking out.

7. Watching a good TV series with Angus - some ones to mention are 6 Feet Under, The Wire, Dexter, Alias, Big Love, Rome, Entourage, Mad Men, 24, and Fringe. Some not-so-ones-to-mention that still hold a special place in my heart (yes, I'm talking about TV shows people) are The 4400 and Jericho. We are SO addicted, and I love it.

8. Keeping an organized planner...on paper, not on my non-existent Smart phone.

9. The feeling after a kid in my class "gets it," especially deeper ideas about the world.

10. Soy lattes from Spruce Confections. Yum.

11. A good massage and then using the spa and showers afterward. I use as many lotions as possible to get my money's worth.

12. Relaxing vacations to tropical destinations. Once I'm there, playing beach volleyball is always a good time.

13. Yoga and guided meditation. I don't do enough of it.

14. Taiwanese street food. I settle for NYC's and SF's Chinatown dim sum.

15. Hearing positive feedback about my teaching, writing, mothering, etc. It's nice to have validation every once in a while.

16. Good conversations about things that matter.

17. Being active outside. Breathing fresh air. Nature is my church.

18. Eating homegrown vegetables.

19. Sushi dates.

20. Of course, last but not least, being with my family, friends, and beautiful son.

Now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What are your favorite things?

Turkey lurkey.

Passed out.

20 pet peeves.

I was inspired to write this post because of something I saw on Facebook one day that really pissed me off. Some are serious, some are funny, some are just plain crazy. Here goes nothin'...

1. When people - especially grown adults - use "gay" as a synonym for "stupid". Ridiculous and ignorant. 'Nuff said.

2. The terrible looped songs on the infant swing - especially when the batteries are running low and it turns into creepy carnival music that my 8 week old son happens to love.

3. Traffic - mainly traffic due to rubber-necking.

4. Rubber-necking.

5. People who are rude for no reason.

6. When someone steps on the back of my heel/shoe. If you have been my friend for a while I've probably hit you for doing this to me, even if it was by accident.

7. Having to dump breastmilk for any reason. That stuff is liquid gold, man!

8. Really sore boobs. See previous post for details.

9. People who are addicted to and completely in love with their smart phones - extreme cases only.

10. Robots.

11. When middle schoolers refuse to revise their writing and I have to read the same draft twice. Ugh.

12. When Tivo deletes my show before I watch it because I forgot to set it to keep until I delete.

13. Never being able to find the pineapple in Psych.

14. Throwing away food that's gone bad before we had a chance to eat it. Wasteful.

15. The fact that I'm too lazy to use cloth diapers.

16. The voices of the characters on Family Guy and Southpark and all those other stupid adult cartoons. I know, I know, I have no sense of humor. Oh, also parents of middle schoolers who let their kids watch these shows and play video games all day.

17. Bathroom sinks that don't drain well.

18. A messy kitchen.

19. When I order a sandwich from the menu and they make it wrong. (This has happened to me three times in the past two weeks.)

20. When my baby doesn't gain the weight he's supposed to gain. Not really a pet peeve, just sad. :( Boo hoo.

I'll follow this up with my 20 favorite things for you "glass is half full" people. What are your pet peeves?

Bittersweet.

Over the past few weeks, I have been struggling with my decision of whether or not to return to work for the spring semester. After lots of heart to hearts with Angus (and Calvin) I have decided to take the rest of the school year off to be at home with Calvin. I knew that if I tried to go back full tilt in January, I'd wouldn't be a good mom or a good teacher - I'd be a hot frickin' mess. It took some degree of getting real with myself because I tend to want to tackle it all, and then inevitably, I burn out. Anyway, I went to school on Friday to talk with my principal about everything. I was so nervous going into the meeting, but I knew I had come to the right decision. Luckily, my principal was unbelievably supportive and understanding and told me to take the time and enjoy it. In his words, "the job will be here waiting for you in August." It was a huge relief and weight off my shoulders for sure. What a blessing that BVSD allows for the opportunity to take a year off and holds the job.

While I was at school, I stopped to visit my classroom, and the kids were SO excited to see me and pictures of Calvin. Then, during passing period, kids swarmed me giving me hugs and asking me about the baby. It was so super cute. It was especially awesome when one of my most challenging students from last year, who projects to be a real tough guy, came running up to me to give me a hug. In that moment, I felt a (small) pang of doubt about my decision to stay home. I felt the urge to get back in the classroom and feel productive again. To be starting a new career and having a baby at the same time has proven difficult because I feel so dedicated to both. Overall, I know I made the right choice for this moment in my life. I'm looking forward to enjoying the next several months of Calvin's life as a stay at home mom and then getting back to my teacher self in August.

All I know is that we modern women are pretty kick ass in that we can maintain a career and selflessly care for our children and do everything else in between. I really think that it should be acceptable to list "parent" on our resumes. How about it mamas?

Little smile, lotta tongue.

Almost, buddy, almost!!

Calvin has started to semi-smile (mostly at picture frames - I think it's either the reflection in the glass or the contrast of the black frame against the white wall, but what do I know). We managed to capture one today. Note his tongue playing peek-a-boo. That's pretty much a constant these days. :)