Carolina on my mind.......

Summertime.....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:38:00 +0000

...is in full swing at Casa Barker. We just returned from a visit to Florida to meet my newest nephew...Ethan...born Jan 18th. He is such a cutie-patootie (he takes after his Aunt--ME!)

Noah is playing baseball for the YMCA summer league and having a blast.

Mike is enjoying his new summer gig.....

I just started 4 weeks of summer school....

And we are looking forward to the upoming Fourth of July holiday and a visit from our friends from Virginia, the Brittons. Hopefully our celebration of the nation's 233rd birthday and our friends' visit will include a Greenville Drive Baseball game, some pool time, a cookout or two and lots of fireworks.....stay tuned...I will surely blog about it before summer is over, haha!!

A few days at the lake with the girls......

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Well it is Spring Break despite what the thermometer says...it is in the 50s today here in SC. I have great dreams of grandeur for the rest of the week..we'll see how much I actually get accomplished.

Returned yesterday from a few days at the lake with my girlfriends from Virginia. It was a great weekend...despite the rocky start. We all arrived Friday afternoon at different times from different locations (suburban DC, Virginia Beach, Jacksonville, NC and me from G'ville).

When a few of us met up to pick up the keys to our cabin, we were told that the previous tenants (a group of fishermen in for a local tournament) had not vacated the premises at 11am that morning as they were supposed to. In fact, the maid had been waiting outside the cabin since 10:30am and at 2:30pm they were no where to be found, and the cabin was full of their stuff.

Our realtor finally reached one of them by cell phone and told them they "needed to get their junk out." This apparently angered them because 2 hours later there was still no sign of them. By this time, everyone in our party had arrived and we were not happy. We tossed around the idea of going to get a drink and waiting them out. But common sense told us that despite our desire to start Happy hour, we needed to make sure we had a place to sleep that night.

So we trekked back to the rental office, and tried to find a solution. Fortunately, our agent was able to find another rental for us...and finally we were headed to our place.

Having seen both properties, the one we ended up in was WAAAYYY better than the one we had rented..more spacious, just perfect!!

Once we got settled in, the wine began flowing freely, we had a nice dinner and stayed up way too late catching up on each other's lives.

On Saturday we did a tour and tasting at Rosemont, a local winery, did a little shopping, and then back to the house for appetizers and drinks. We had all intention of heading out for an early dinner, but once again, our chatting went later into the evening than we planned, and since we were in a small lake town during the off season, we had trouble finding a place to dine later that night. We ended up at a Cracker Barrel of all places but that was fine.

Sunday the weather was gorgeous so after brunch we headed out to the deck and enjoyed the sunshine..too much. Most of us ended up with a wicked sun burn. But it was so much fun to relax, and enjoy the sun and conversation. Later that afternoon two of the girls had to head home (and back to reality). The remaining three of us had a relaxing evening (and more wine)..then headed out on Monday morning for our own return to reality. While I missed my family it was great to gather with friends and relax for a few days.

I have know these women for about 17 years and over that time we have married, changed jobs/careers, had kids, moved, bought/sold houses, etc. But somehow we have remained frends despite our lives beign so drastically different than they were when we met. And a few days away together once a year allows us to continue to remain friends, support each other through life and enjoy friendships that continue to stand the test of time.

Manic Monday.....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Spring Break is 4 days away and I am sooooo ready for it to get here. I think this week is going to be a bit insane...if today is any indication. First of all it is Monday...enough said, right? Well today I was supposed to be observed at school during a math lesson. Mondays are crazy enough any way, so I decided to get to school early to make sure I was over-prepared for my day. As I was unpacking I realized that I left my flash drive at home (yeah, the one with ALL OF MY TEACHING STUFF!!) I told myself not to panic and went into survival mode..I have backups of most of what I needed for today...so that was fine. I fired off an email to DH who was at home to have him check and make sure my flash drive was in fact at home..it was (if I had lost that...well, we don't even want to do THERE!). The folks who were supposed to observe me ended up not showing up (all that planning for naught....anyway, I gave my boys a DARN good lesson on data, surveys and tally charts!!!)

Then one of my "little darlings" who is a bit of a handful (strong UNDERstatement) decided to show out ALL DAY TODAY!! Working my last nerve....

At about 11am my phone rings and the afterschool coordinator asks me if I can sub this afternoon for a 5th grade class...SURE!!!

Well...there is light at the end of the tunnel...I only have to teach for 3 more days because I took FRIDAY off and I am headed to Lake Gaston, NC for a girls getaway weekend....so in 96 hours I am not going to be thinking about flash drives, observations or my little darlings...I am going to be sipping a margarita and living the good life with my girls.....

How do you spell slacker...S-L-A-C-K-E-R!!!

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:39:00 +0000

Okay, go I thought a fire had been lit under me by my friend Kris, who I had been bugging since I met her to start blogging. She finally started and I felt compelled to resume my daily (okay, weekly, um monthly posts)...I had great intentions, but then life got int eh way and as I was updating my blog title and description for a contest I was entering, I realized i had yet again fallen off the blog wagon.

I got into blogging because we had plans to adopt a child from China, so I started a blog (they told me that was part of the process). Seriously. I "met" a lot of very cool people online that way through their adoption blogs. And I have to admit, I blogged on a regular basis then. But then we moved from Virginia to South Carolina and I felt like I needed to start a new blog to keep friends and family posted on our life here in the South. So that is how this one got started. Either I am really busy or my life is really boring because I just don't seem to have that much to blog about lately.

I still read lots of blogs each week- blogs my friends write, blogs from teachers, blogs from people like me. And they all seem to have more to say than I do, and their funny. So I am going to try each week to find something witty or humorous to write about. My life is funny.....but by the time I edited to protect the innocent ..not so much!!
So bear with me..it may be a bumpy ride, but by gosh..I am going to blog!!!

I'm Baaaaaack.....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:51:00 +0000

...okay, I know it has been a while. Too long really, but a lot has been going on....Noah has been keeping us on the run between sports, scouts, AWANA and school. And work (school) has been keeping me pretty busy too. But I FINALLY got my friend Kris to start blogging, so how would it look if I continued to be a slacker on here. I promise to return soon with some pictures and updates on our life here in SC...it is exciting...at least to us, but since YOU are checking out this blog you must be at least sort of interested, right????

Time to Ketchup .....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:08:00 +0000

...but so much has been going one, and it is hard to put it into words sometimes. Anyway, a few of you have hinted to me about visiting my blog and finding nothing. So here goes....

First off- HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I had these dreams of grandeur of posting this whole look bak at 2008...well you see how far I got on that!! Maybe I will do one for 2009!!!

Anyway, here's the latest. In case you have not heard...we are no longer adopting from China. It is a long story...and one I don't really want out there floating in blog-land. I am not quite ready to share all the details...but some day I will. Don't worry we are fine..we actually made the decision back in October and pulled our dosier in November. This month will be a little hard because our LID group will be getting their referrals. We will share in their joy and can;t wait to see all the pictures, and stories from China. But we know this is God's plan for us, and we are confident that we will bring another child into our family year, she (or he) just won't be from China.

We had a great Christmas, right inthe middle of a glorious 16 day break from school. We spend a lot of time in our pajamas, playing wii, sleeping late after staying up late, watching movies., eating way too much, and enjoying time together as a afamily.

Now we are back in our regular routine...school, church, work, Scouts, Awana...in other words..craziness!! Noah is gearing up for the Scouts Pinewood derby and AWANA also has a similar derby this month. Mike and Noah (well mostly Mike) are busy designing and building both cars, and testing them out.

We finally found a church here in Greenville after looking for more than a year. It is called NewSpring Church and we LOVE it. It is very different from our church in Virginia. For one thing is is HUGE!! There are over 8000 members on 3 campuses (Anderson, Greenville and Florence SC) and they are opening another campus in Columbia later this year. Our Senior Pastor is Perry Noble and he is AMAZING. He actually preaches at the Anderson campus and it we watch him through live video feed in Greenville. It was wierd at first but he is very "larger than life" so you don't even notice he isn't right there. I was afraid Mike would not go for the whole mega church experience but he loves Perry, has connected with his message and he is on fire!! We went to a membership class last week and have begun to get plugged into a home group and volunteering (Mike has volunteered for the parking team...and is secretly wishing they let him drive one of the golf carts!). I want to do something in the Childrens Ministry but after dealign with little people all week, I think I am going to work on the registration team, which helps sign in kids and get them to the right classroom. Noah loves it too...they keep him "highly engaged" and he loves goign each Sunday.

Aside from that we are hoping to make a trip to Virginia early this spring, and we want to resume our famiy beach trip this summer. We also need to make a trip down to Florida to meet my new nephew Ethan, who was born just this morning!!

Well, that is all for now....I will work on updating this more often.....

Love Patti, Mike Noah

Wearing my Soccer Mom hat....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:35:00 +0000

...Soccer season started again last night (yep, we have practices on Friday evenings) and I am going to be the team mom again this season (because I have so much EXTRA time on my hands, especially now that school is back in session!).

Noah is playing for the YMCA again- this season on the Cyclones. He is very excited, and we watched along with the other parents from the sidelines as he practiced. He has really picked up some great skills since last season. And he loves it, which is the most important thing. He got a chance to practice as the goalie during the first half of practice. He missed one kick and dove for another one and caught it. Fast forward to the second half of practice and another kid is playing goalie. This kid missed a kick at the end (the only one that came at him during practice) and a boy and girl on his team (this was a team scrimmage) came up to the goalie and started yelling at him for missing the kick.

My first thoughts were 1) poor little guy 2) ITS ONLY A GAME!! 3) Who raised these little brats 4) if that were Noah they were yelling at, I would have been out of my chair and kicked some 7- year old butt.

We were sitting between both of the coaches' wives and both jumped up to tell their husbands what had happened (they were working on skills with other kids). I am glad they did because if they hadn't, I would have at the end of practice.

We try and encourage Noah to do his best, play fair and treat eveyone with respect. Kind of a no brainer when you are a parent..obviously these kids parents were absent the day they taught that in Parent School.

His first game is next Saturday! Go Cyclones!!!!

3 Word Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:57:00 +0000

...it's official. We are back in school, both Noah and I. Tuesday was the first day back for the kids and it is safe to say, we were all exhausted Tuesday night (and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)....

I am excited about the new school year. I have 13 students and they are all boys!! I knew about that already. They are great kids, but each has their own quirks (as do I). Our first 4 days together (and now it looks like Day 5 too) were "Textbook Free, " where we were supposed to spend our days going over rules and procedures, and building a sense of community. So far, so good. We did have a few minor rule violations, but I tried to roll with it, knowing it was just the first week.

Noah is in an all boy 2nd grade classroom and he is really enjoying it. One of my teacher friends also has her son in that same classroom. We are hoping they will become friends like us. Noah has a wonderful teacher but what he is most excited about is the SOAR bucks he is accumulating. Our school does a Positive Behavior System school-wide called SOAR and kids get paper money "bucks" for doing good things...then they get to spend them in the SOAR-store buying goodies (ie junk they play with for 30 minutes then lose or break). It is a great program, and Noah is collecting his bucks!!! I am enjoying having him at school with me. He says he is a little bored but I am sure once they hit the books this week that will change.

Here is a picture of Noah and Ella on the 1st Day of school. Ella was wishing Noah a good first day and Noah was reassuring Ella he would be home that afternoon to play with her.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:06:00 +0000

I love to read, and those who know me well know this about me. As a child I was always an avid reader and now that I am a Mom and a teacher I try and pass on my love of reading to my son and my students. When I came across this opportunity to read and review this book, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson, I knew I wanted to to do this!! The preliminary info about this book hooked me, as it is geared toward boys. Boys tend to lose interest in reading as they reach 3-4 grade and this book is sure to lure some of them back!!!

I read the entire book the first weekend after I received it in the mail (only 272 pages). I enjoyed it so much that I decided to read this book to my 7 year old son as part of our bedtime routine each night (I know some of you are asking why I would read a book about aliens to a 7 year old as a bedtime story....you know your child, so guage if you think it might casue nightmares...it didn't for mine) . Each chapter in the book is about 3-4 pages long so we started out reading 1 or 2 chapters a night and by the 3rd night, my son was hooked and begging me to read more!! I think the length of the chapters will be a good selling point for struggling readers. They will read aq chapter or two and feel like they are making real progress in this novel.

The best part of this book is not the chapter size, it is the story. It is about a young boy who has superpowers..the powers to make figments of his imagination real, as well as manipulate himself into time, places and things. And he uses these powers for good...to hunt aliens....who live here on among the human race. My son loved the fast pace of the story and the detail Patterson uses to describe these aliens and Daniel's adventures. I think boys will relate to Daniel because they often see themselves as superheroes, as protectors and adventurers. There is just enough grossness in the battles scenes between Daniel and these aliens to draw these boys in and keep them hooked throughout the entire story. By the end my son and I were cheering out loud, wanting Daniel to triumph over evil and save the world.

If you like a good alien story, or have a boy who is losing interest in reading...check out The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson. There are enough twists and turns, with a little "on the edge of your seat" excitement thrown in to rival any video game or thrill ride.

BlogHer08 Swag Box

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:25:00 +0000

I wanted to go to BlogHer08 this year, but it was not in the cards (or the budget). I followed tons of Mom Bloggers who went including Sarah who drove across country with 3 other moms and blogged the whole thing, and also Kristin who writes one of the funniest blogs I have ever read.

So I almost felt like I was there....ALMOST.

Then about 2 weeks ago I received an email from Amy at BSM Media. BSM markets to Moms, (and especially Mom Bloggers). Seems they had lots of swag left over from BlogHer08 and wanted to share it with those of us who couldn't go. FREE STUFF..sign me up....

So this morning the mailman delivered my box-o-goodies. Here is what I got....2 Disney Vacation Club Planner kits (yes, two- so if you want my other one, let me know. I share well with others!!!), plus a Disney Vacation Club luggage tag and lip balm, A Precious Moments Figurine, plus two cool Precious Memories books, a certificate for a free month's membership to Time 4 Learning(which I plan to use in my classroom), a certificate for $250 off the program fee for Cultural Care AuPairs, Two Kung Fu Panda Activity kits from HP, AND 60 FREE prints from HP as well, plus Tasters Choice Coffee Samples, brochures from some cool companies including Cookies by Design and Tail Wags (a company that makes the cutest bike helmet covers). I also received a free copy of All You magazine. I cant wait to dive into that one this afternoon while I am sitting by the pool.

Thanks BSM Media and all the companies that contributed free stuff. Hopefully next year I can make it to BlogHer and pick up my cool swag in person!!!

This is what we'll be doing at 7:30 tonight!!

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:16:00 +0000

...watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics (from home of course!!!). We have been excited about the 2008 Olympics in Beijing since we started the process of adopting Maddy from China (over 3 years ago). Since tonight's broadcast is taped, due to the 12 hour time difference, I resisted the urge all day to look at photos from the event that were quickly posted
on the Internet.

I am excited about being able to visit some of the Olympic venues in Beijing when we travel to get Maddy. I really want to see Birds Nest stadium, where the Opening/Closing Ceremonies are being held. Travleling in a few months should make that easier. I know from at least one person who was in Beijing in the past 2 weeks that you have not been able to get close to the venues (especially Birds Nest stadium) due to security being so tight.

So we are having stir-fry and dumplings for dinner tonight ...and we'll be cheering on the U.S. athletes and enjoying the show.

3 Word Sunday- Going 2C Friends

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Today we are taking a mini-Road Trip up to Charlotte to see 3 families we used to go to church with in Virginia: The Clarkes, the Dunphys and the Cochrans. The Dunphys and Cochrans moved to NC before we moved here, and the Clarkes live in MD. Nikki and her girls lived across the street from us in our first home in VA. She is the reason I went to All Saints. All our kids were much younger when we met (many of them still in diapers), and there have been 3 new additions in the last few years.

We are looking forward to a great afternoon of food, fun and fellowship. I will post pics later this week!!

Schools Out For Summer

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:58:00 +0000

...now I know you are scratchng your head saying "Didn't school get out in June?"

Well some of us (well, ME) are INSANE and signed on to teach summer school. Yep. I have spend my days (Monday-Thursday) with a bunch of 3rd graders (soon to be 4th graders). Yes, I need my head examined, because now, I have exactly 18 days until I have to report back for the new school year.

My incentive was the pay of course---needing desperately to build up the "China Fund" since we are (finally) getting closer to getting our referral for Maddy (have you read my other blog??? Waiting for Maddy ) After Uncle Sam got his grubby hands on my summer school paycheck, it hardly seemed worth giving up relaxing days by the pool, eating bonbons and other things teachers do on their summer vacation.

So today, our summer school principal (not our usual principal-whom I adore) had the great idea to do a fun day for the final day--where the kids would rotate between a water/field day, a movie and a dance, spending about an hour at each event. Surprisingly it went off well, considering that 24 hours ago we had nothing organized (like filling 400 water balloons- "sure we'll get right on that!"). Oh, and there was the dance, which I was put in charge of organizing the music for (why, because I am so hip to what kind of music 5-11 year olds listen to)..I can tell you--these kids are cultural deprived...they didn't know YMCA, BrickHouse, or Funkytown, and if one more kid asked me to play the Cha Cha Slide (for the 40th time)...UUUGGGHHH!! Now, I cant get Hannah Montana's Rock Star or We're all in this together from High School Musical out of my head.

So whatever will I do with my 18 days..vacation??? nope, relaxing??? nope, sitting by the pool??? MAYBE...plus lots of organizing, reading (some for fun, more for school), sleeping late...and maybe eat a few bonbons!!!

3 word Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:52:00 +0000

Our nephew Jacob recently became a Marine. He is a great kid and has always wanted to become a cop like his uncle Mike (my husband). The USMC offered him the opportunity to become an MP and he signed on, knowing that he would see combat at the completion of his training. He is completing training to fulfill this dream and will assigned a permanent duty station shortly. After that, he has already been told to prepare to deploy to Afghanistan. We are very proud of him, and are praying for his safety as he trains and prepares for deployment.

He has grown up alot and we are very proud of him!!!

3 Word Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:47:00 +0000

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It has been almost a year since we left Virginia, leaving family and friends, and our church. It is hard to put into words how hard it was to leave our church behind..it was home, family and friends all rolled into one. Our church was a very family-friendly, warm, spirit-filled place.

This week, andother family from our old church is preparing to leave. They are going to Belgium for 3 years. All of the Moms from the Moms group submitted recipes and one of the Moms created a beautiful digital cookbook complete with photos as a keepsake for this family. It made me realize how much I miss our old church and the friends we made there. Fortunately for us, we can drive back for a visit...and plan to next month. Blessings and hugs to our friends at All Saints!!

Looking for answers.....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:25:00 +0000

I was not going to post about this, but after returning to school today, my heart is still aching, I am still angry and I need to let go of this before it turns my heart to stone.

Last Monday, an 8 year old student from the school I teach at was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a 14 year old neighbor!!! Dy'Mia Janae Woody was not my student. But I knew her. We were not close, but she knew who I was and I immediately recognized her when her picture flashed on the screen last week, announcing her death.

When I woke up last Tuesday morning the news was on, and I heard a reporter say the body of an 8 year old girl had been found in an abandoned mobile home off Old Grove Road. I knew immediately that she was "one of ours," as we often refer to children in our school community. My fears were confirmed less than an hour later when I received an email from my principal.

We had the week off from Summer school last week for the 4th of July holiday. Had I been at school, the news couldn't have been any harder to take. I watched the news constantly and checked my school email for any news. My husband (a retired cop) and I watched an interview of a 14 year old neighbor of Dy'Mia's who had been one of the last to see her Monday night. My husband's radar immediately went up and he said "that kid either did it, or knows who did." By Wednesday, a suspect (the same 14 y.o. boy we watched being interviewed) had been named, and arrested. More details of her death trickled out later in the week as well as information about the funeral plans.

I was scheduled to go out of town over the 4th of July holiday, so when I heard the funeral would be on Saturday when I was still out of town I was sad to know I would not be there to give my condolences to her family, and be there to support my colleagues who knew Dy'Mia, and represent our school to the community.

Word came over the weekend that a crisis intervention team would be there to assist students and staff when summer school resumed today. I wondered how the kids would react, especially those students who knew Dy'mia. As I walked int he building, I was handed a letter by our principal about how things should be handled today. It was reassuring to be there, to be with our students, to hug them, to listen to them, to be the port in the storm they needed in their little lives.

Through this all I keep asking myself what makes a 14 year old do this to an 8 year old child. To any child? What kind of kids are we raising? My school serves a high poverty area of Greenville. Over 90 percent of these kids receive free or reduced lunch, they come from single parent homes, and are predominantly African-Americans or Hispanic. Their world is colored with drugs, guns, violence, sex, you name it, they have seen it. There is so much anger, and apathy, mistrust and abuse.

I went into education to make a difference in the lives of kids like these. Now I find myself so ill-equipped to handle it. When a child asked me "why did he do it" today, I didn't have any answers. I needed an answer too. Next week I will be attending a conference called "Boys in Crisis" as part of my preparation to teach an all-boy classroom of 4th graders next year. I need to understand where they are coming from a little better. So maybe I can still make a difference.

Rafe Esquith, one of my heroes, said (pardon me for paraphrasing here) that we can't save these kids, but we can teach them to save themselves. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

3 Word Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Okay, chances are, I am not going to see Paula Deen, but I am going to Lady & Sons for dinner next weekend!!! I am SO EXCITED!!!!

We are leaving on Friday morning and staying until Saturday evening. I think Savannah will be a great place to spend the 4th of July. I have been to Savannah once before about 10 years ago and I have to say, it is the quintessential Southern town. Very old, very beautiful, very charming!! I proimise to post pictures when I return!!!

A Wedding--Togo-Style

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Mike and I were blessed to be invited to attend the wedding of the Mom of one of my students today. This boy, (I'll call him J for privacy), is an amazing kid. He is a musical prodigy. Plays the piano by ear and is a whiz on the drums. He and his family recently emigrated to the US from Togo, West Africa.

Anyway, his Mom got married today, and we were among the invited guests. I was a bit surprised at how "american" the wedding ceremony was. I was expecting it to be full-blown African. But it was traditional, as weddings go.

The real treat was the reception. In true Togalese style, the reception food was prepared by the women. It was AMAZING!!! And I knew it would be...see, J's Mom had cooked for our class this year. She made traditional dished from Togo...and my kids loved it. So did I.

So I knew the food at the reception would be "the stuff". And it was. There were all different types of meats and rices. And one of the dishes was the same as one J's Mom had prepared for my class. It was tomatoes, peppers and onions, all cooked together with african spices. YUM! It was all so fresh, like they had left the wedding ceremony and gone home and cooked it right then.

Mike and I filled our plates full and enjoyed every bite. A colleague of mine and her husband were also at the wedding and K's husband enjoyed the food too. In K's defense, she is 7 months pregnant and was afraid to eat too much because she didn't want to get heartburn.

An these folks were amazing hosts! Everytime we turned around they were bringing bottles of wine, and champagne to our table. They even got a bit offened when we tried to clear our plates from the table. They truly wanted us to sit back and rela, and enjoy the festivities.

I wish I has taken pictures of the food (as wierd as that sounds)...I wanted to but I was too embarrassed. So I googled some pictures and here is what I found...similar to what we ate.

Beef and Onion

Wagash (Fried Cheese)

Rice & Beans

There were a few things I was not brave enough to try..like the fish heads. It was a wonderful afternoon and we send our thanks to Olivier and Valentine for their hospitality in including us in their special day.

Kung Fu Panda...a must see!!!

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:31:00 +0000

Summer is the best time to go see movies and I think that is why the studios release so many during the summer. What a better way to pass the day than to sit in a cool, dark, theatre to escape from the heat (and reality). We are planning to see a lot of movies this summer and I was excited to see that our local theatre offers free kids movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the summer. Some of the free movies they offer we have already seen..but we are not ones to pass up a free flick.

We saw Kung Fu Panda last weekend. It was cute..but not as cute as I had expected. Of course I will probably buy it when it comes out on DVD, partly because fo the China connection. My favorite part is the relationship between Po (the Panda) an his father, who happens to be a duck.

The movie doesn't really explain the relationship, but we assumed they were a "foverever family". Noah really liked it though and laughed a lot throughout.

I Heart Summer.....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:58:00 +0000

...sometimes!!! In the interest of time, this post is going to be bullet-style. Here is what I love about summer.

*warmer weather (duh!)

*no school (except for me this summer!)

*vacations (although we will only be able to take a short one, SEE ABOVE)

*the beach, pool, lake, etc (except the swim suit factor!)

*cool beverages on the patio each night

*dining outside

*grilling out (a grilled "dog" just tastes better!)

*BASEBALL (go Red Sox...go DRIVE!)

*sleeping with the windows open (except when the air is not stirring)

75 things I may or may not be able to do....

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:20:00 +0000

Tagged by Reba---The Rules: Bold the things you can do and you leave in normal type the things you can’t. Sarcastic comments in parenthesis are encouraged.

1. Give advice that matters in one sentence. (One of my best...: If you have a drink, you’ll feel better.)
2. Tell if someone is lying. (I am a 4th grade teacher after all...and married to a cop..I have this one in the bag!!!)
3. Take a photo. (Note: the word “well” wasn’t used.)
4. Score a baseball game. (I do not have a clue how this is done..even after looking over the shoulder of a man at a Nationals Game who thought I was stalking him.....)
5. Name a book that matters. (Ummm, the Bible?)
6. Know at least one musical group as well as is possible. ( Do the Jonas Brothers count?)
7. Cook meat somewhere other than the grill. (Like in the oven or stove top? Yes. And for the record, I am not allowed to touch the grill)
8. Not monopolize the conversation. (Have you met my husband?)
9. Write a letter. (A long, lost art.)
10. Buy a suit. (Like a bathing suit? Going to do that tomorrow. Say a prayer.)
11. Swim three different strokes. (I could at some point in my life..not so sure about it now)
12. Show respect without being a suck-up.
13. Throw a punch. (my husband says I hit "like a girl..whatever the hell that means!!)
14. Chop down a tree. (I thought when they fell a bunch of guys race out with chainsaws)
15. Calculate square footage. (But can I teach 10 year olds how to do it...NO)
16. Tie a bow tie. (Fortunately my husband has sworn off ties)
17. Make one drink, in large batches, very well. (They call this a gift)
18. Speak a foreign language. (After six years of Spanish, all I can recall are a few words but I am learning a few of the "dirty" ones from my studetns..go figure)
9. Approach a woman/man out of his/her league. (With a drink, of course.)
20. Sew a button. (But really, that’s it. No hemming. No Halloween costumes from paper patterns. No curtains into clothes for the family.)
21. Argue with a European without getting xenophobic or insulting soccer. (Can I kick?)
22. Give a woman an orgasm so that he doesn’t have to ask after it. (Who is he? and what is he asking?)
23. Be loyal. (To. A. Fault)
24. Know his poison, without standing there, pondering like a dope. (His current drink of choice is Blue Moon.)
25. Drive an eightpenny nail into a treated two-by-four without thinking about it. (Is this the foreign language question again?)
26. Cast a fishing rod without shrieking or sighing or otherwise admitting defeat. (I have done it but not very well. I am a firm believer that seafood belongs in a tank that I cna order for dinner.)
27. Play gin with an old guy.
28. Play go fish with a kid. (I think I can win this one.)
29. Understand quantum physics well enough that he can accept that a quarter might, at some point, pass straight through the table when dropped. (Enough with the foreign languages.)
30. Feign interest. (Again, have you met my husband? KIDDING.)
31. Make a bed. (Yes, everyday. I prefer to only do it when I have just washed the sheets, whn company is coming, or if I am bored out of my mind)
32. Describe a glass of wine in one sentence without using the terms nutty, fruity, oaky, finish, or kick. ( How about YUM?)
33. Hit a jump shot in pool. (I cna;t even figure out how to play pool on Wii)
34. Dress a wound. (Isn't that what EMTs are for???)
35. Jump-start a car. Change a flat tire. Change the oil. (I CAN put air in tires. Just did that yesterday. Go me! Oh, and I know where the spare is)
36. Make three different bets at a craps table. (My time in Vegas is best spent at the slots)
37. Shuffle a deck of cards. (of course..)
38. Tell a joke. (So, a horse enters a bar)
39. Know when to split cards in blackjack (see above question regarding craps)
40. Speak to a seven-year-old so he/she will hear. (Not as easy as it sounds. And sometimes money and/or candy is involved.)
41. Speak to a waiter so he will hear. (See previous answer.)
42. Talk to a dog so it will hear. (Try shrieking..and I might add I am the most successful with dogs.)
43. Install: a disposal, an electronic thermostat, or a lighting fixture without asking for help. (that is why I got married
44. Ask for help (still trying to master this one)
45. Break another man’s grip on his wrist. ( I would suggest biting.)
46. Tell a woman’s dress size. (Look at the tag.)
47. Recite one poem from memory. ( DO limericks count??)
48. Remove a stain.
49. Say no. ( I have gotten really good at this. Ask my husband and the PTO.)
50. Fry an egg sunny-side up. (I have tried..to no avail)
51. Build a campfire. (Again...this is why I have a husband)
52. Step into a job no one wants to do. (You mean like cleaning up after the dog or kid vomit? I so qualify.)
53. Sometimes, kick some ass. (See #13.)
54. Break up a fight. (Sometimes it hurts.)
55. Point to the north at any time. (Again with the math. Ugh.)
56. Create a play-list in which ten seemingly random songs provide a secret message to one person.
57. Explain what a light-year is (as in Buzz Lightyear????)
58. Avoid boredom. ( this is why the Internet was created, yes)
59. Write a thank-you note. (Another lost art. )
60. Be brand loyal to at least one product. (Starbucks, Diet-Coke, Pop-Tarts...I could go on.)
61. Cook bacon. ( Does heating Micro-Bacon count?)
62. Hold a baby. (Duh.)
63. Deliver a eulogy. (Can’t imagine.)
64. Know that Christopher Columbus was a son of a bitch (Hello, didn't I mention I teach 4th grade)
65. Throw a baseball over-hand with some snap.
66. Throw a football with a tight spiral. (How about loose spiral?)
67. Shoot a 12-foot jump shot reliably (no clue)
68. Find his/her way out of the woods if lost. (Why would I be in the woods???.)
69. Tie a knot.
70. Shake hands. ( Not that I like to. Ew. Germs.)
71. Iron a shirt. ( Not that I like to. Ew. Work.)
72. Stock an emergency bag for the car. (Have had one since 9/11)
73. Caress a woman’s neck. (Again, I’m confused. I could tell him how to do it but I have yet to hear the song “Kiss the Girl” enough to cross the line.)
74. Know some birds. (You mean like personally? Because that would make me really crazy.)
75. Negotiate a better price. (Just ask my dry cleaner.)

Tina's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:33:00 +0000

We went to Florida last weekend for my baby sister's wedding. It was a quick trip (with a VERY long drive after school on Thursday)...but it was so wonderful to be with family, and to see Tina and Chris get married. Here are a few pictures...I am going to upload the rest to Slide and add here later.

Here's the bride and her son ...isn't she beautiful!!!

Tina & Chris Matheis

And of course my handsome boy.......

Memorial Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Mon, 26 May 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Many in my family have served, and are serving right now. I have have friends who have served, and are serving right now to protect our freedom. We have been fortunate that we have never lost a family member or close friend in combat. That said, our nephew Jake is currently doing his training as a Marine and will likely be shipped to Afganistan or Iraq before years end. Take some time today to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

And may God Bless America.

Happy Birthday to me!!

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Today is my 4_ birthday (how is that for shameless self-promotion!) And how did I spend it (you mean besides blogging?)? Well, today was the first day of the PACT (Palmetto Acheivement Challenge Test) testing. So yes, I was stuck inside, at work, with 14 10 year olds who were forced to write (not their favorite thing to do--but like we all had any say in the matter). I did gets some nice cards and a gift or two from my students, lots of goodies from my school Secret Pal, and cards and gifts from Noah and Mike, and cards from friends and family. Not sure what is on the agenda for this evening. I do think a meal cooked and served by someone else is on the agenda (and maybe a few glasses of wine!!!)

3 Words -Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (NoahsMom) — Sun, 11 May 2008 12:54:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day to me, my Mom and all the Moms out there!! We are Super Moms even though we are the last to admit it. I waited 35 years to become a Mom and it was worth the wait!!

It is the toughest job I have ever done, and some days I wonder how I am going to make it to bedtime!! But I love being a Mom, I love my little guy (who is not so little anymore) and I am thank God everyday for him. If I could fgure out how to transfer from the video camera to YouTube I would post the pinnacle moment of my becoming a Mom (not the actual birth- YUK!!)....my now famous quote (at least in out house)..." that was so easy, I am ready to do it again. Well, I am ready to do it again...7 1/2 years later, just waiting for the Chinese Gov't to get their act together and make it so!! God-willing I will be a Mom to Maddy before this time next year!!

PEACE OUT.......