Operation Orange Belt= Success

DS tested for his orange belt this past Saturday. He did a great job. After the testing was a costume contest and he was so damn cute he won! Great day in our neck of the woods. Here are some pics taken by proud mama!

October Designer Color Palette Challenge

Here is my work that I did for the October Designer Color Palette Challenge at Hummie's World. Hope you enjoy!! Here is the 4 shared link.

Heavy Sigh

You know your little boy is growing up when he spends a great deal of time setting up his train tracks for Thomas. Then as he sits there watching Thomas puffing down the tracks he pulls out his Batman toy and uses it to shoot Thomas.

Shout out to all my friends in Korea!

Ok, I really only have one friend in Korea. And well she is not a friend in the typical sense of the word. She is the daughter of one of my dearest online friends and let me tell you she is smart and funny and if I lived in Korea I am confident she and I would be fast friends!! She has undertaken the amazingly brave task of teaching English in Korea! Go check out her blog here. Every once in awhile when she blogs of the trials and tribulations of teaching I try to pop in with a nugget of teaching wisdom. It is worth noting here that it has been 8 years since I was a classroom teacher, and while being a school counselor is rife with it's own challenges, it is not the same as teaching day in and day out. Additionally, with the exception of my first teaching job, all of my years in the classroom were in a nice suburban school with nice suburban children. So really my nuggets of teaching wisdom are completely useless in light of the challenges she faces on a daily basis. So Kati, my hat is off to you and what you do. I am amazed with the grace and fearlessness you have shown during your adventure!

Kati sublty :) pointed out that I have not blogged forever and she is right. Normally it is a case of me not really having too much to say. But these days it is because I have too much to say and can't sort out what I should share.

So here are the highlights:

1. School is crazy this year. Kids are keeping me hopping; I see no light at the end of that tunnel unless you count summer vacation!
2. DS is liking preschool this year and is even showing signs of abandoning his underachiever role in this world. This is a good thing because his dad and I are uber-achievers and we are really floundering on parenting a kid that is not excelling.
3. Politics are consuming me and I can't wait for all of this to be over. I love my family more than anything, but I am definitely of a different mind politically than anyone else. It leads to contention and it is lonely being the only one that is right! (love ya' sis)
4. I miss scrapping and am needing a creative outlet, but I am too damn tired at the end of the day. I need to find some me time, but you all know how hard that can be.
5. Last but not least, I am immeasurably blessed by friends close by and online. Especially those that would take the time to post on their blogs to get me to get off my sorry rear and back into the swing of things! Thanks Kati. I am touched, really touched!!