Travel Advice

I need some help from all you Moms out there. This summer, we are going to be visiting DisneyWorld with Sean's parents and we're taking Caroline along! I'd love any advice y'all have as far as what to pack for a flight and visiting theme parks with a toddler. We got Caroline her own seat on the flight and we're staying at a Disney resort, so that will make things a little easier I'm sure. Anyway, if you have any good ideas (even if I don't "know" you) throw 'em my way! Thanks!

Our Little Helper

Sean and I don't exactly earn the kind of salaries that afford us the luxury of a maid. We decided it was time for Caroline to start earning her keep. She IS 18 whole months old now! She's been...



putting away the laundry



vacuuming



dust busting



mopping



cooking



raking



and washing the car. What a big girl!

Hi, my name is Tiffany and I used to blog here...

Sean and I took Caroline out to the field of bluebonnets next to our house for a photo shoot today. Here are some of the ones that turned out cute!

10 Honest Things About Me

I was tagged by Hilary!

1. 4 years ago I trained for and ran a half marathon after getting a brochure about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training in the mail. I had been running for fun for a few years at that time, but never competed in anything longer than a 5K. My Dad had lymphoma when I was in college, so raising money for LLS was the push I needed to do a bigger race. I raised over $1000 and I loved it...even the 7:00 AM Saturday practice runs! I'd LOVE to do a full marathon someday!

2. I HATE to be tickled. When someone tickles me, I lose all control of my body and will do ANYTHING to get out of it. I will bite, hit, kick...if you tickle me, you better watch out! I actually kicked one of my ex-boyfriends very hard in the "junk" once accidently because he tickled me. Looking back, he totally deserved it.

3. I haven't had a landline phone in 4 years and I have not missed it once!

4. If I could have any job in the world, I would love to be a musician in a symphony. I obviously do not have the skills for that kind of job, but I was in orchestra for 7 years in school and it was one of the most fun things I ever did.

5. Back in the summer, I got a rare form of psoriasis from strep throat. Anyone who saw it will tell you it was awful looking and the dermatologists told me there wasn't much they could do about it. I had my tonsils removed in August to see if it helped and it did! For the last few months I have been COMPLETELY clear of any spots...you can't even tell I had it. HOORAY!

6. I'm super attached to my Kindergarten class this year. I had actually looked at other job options over the summer, but decided to go back. I'm so glad that I did, it's really been one of my best years! I guess I had a lucky #8 instead of lucky 7.

7. I LOVE naps! Before Caroline was born, I would take a nap every day when I got home from work. I definitely still treat myself to a good nap sometimes while she is sleeping.

8. I'm turning 30 this summer and I really don't want to talk about it. My birthday is 7/11 like the convenience store, lest you forget.

9. I am very obsessive about having all of the doors to my classroom shut at all times. I think the 4 years of teaching open concept PreK did that to me. 300 preschoolers, one room, no doors or walls...that'll send you right over the edge, my friends.

10. I broke my blog. I got the pink stripe off the header, but now all my links are at the bottom. Sigh, I quit.

I tag Marcia, Christa and Ashley!

Help!

Does anyone know how to get the pink header stripe off of my blog? I mean, I love pink and all...but it doesn't go with my color scheme!

I'm gonna let Katherine and Marcia blog for me today. Thanks for offering girls, that was SO sweet of you ;)

Stumped

I teach Kindergarten, so I answer about a million questions every day.



Can I go to the bathroom?

Is it lunch time yet?

What's 10 plus 0?

Is Barack Obama mixed?

Can I go use it?

Is it wake up time yet?

Is cornbread a healthy food?

What does M look like?

Are we going outside for recess?

When is it lunch time?

What does 9 look like?

Do we have to take our coats to PE?

What's for snack?

Is it lunch time yet?

Are we going to centers?

When are we eating lunch?



Well, they did it, the kids finally asked me one I couldn't answer...



Mrs. Beatty, are you going to die if you don't have a Sonic drink?


(crickets chirping)

Thanks Alisa!

Alisa surprised me with a new header today...yay!

This one's for you, Katherine!

Last month, Katherine posted some of her finds for the 12 Tacky Days of Christmas. If you'll hop over to her blog, you'll see she came up with some real doozies. I noticed from her last post that it looks like her family is doing some redecorating. As I was perusing Craigslist this morning, I found a little gem that she might want to look into. I lived with her for 2 years in college and I know she likes things clean, so I thought of her when I saw THIS:




Those are some of those vinyl letters you can buy to decorate your walls. Apparently, you can also decorate your toilet...if you're into that sort of thing. You can't make this stuff up.

Scanner Sunday

Sorry I didn't post last week. I can't even keep up with my own game. Sheesh. Sometime during the day last Sunday, I realized that it was my half birthday. I'm now closer to my 30s than my 20s. I think I spent the rest of the day in mourning.

The picture I chose for this week was actually from this past July. Matt, Paula, Sean and I went to Dallas to see the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant concert, which was unbelievably awesome. We hit up Six Flags one day and had so much fun! It had been at least 10 years since I had been, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could still do the rides. The weather was beautiful and there were hardly any crowds. I think the longest we had to wait for a ride was 10 minutes. I can't wait to go back again!



Because we're suckers, we had to buy the cheesy souvenir photo. It was actually a good thing, because I don't think I took any pictures with my camera the whole trip. I apologize for scanning the picture in its frame. True laziness, my friends.

Scanner Sunday

In honor of the new year, I'm going to start a new little game on my blog-Scanner Sunday. I invite everybody to play along. The only rule is that you post a picture and the picture has to be scanned. Mostly, we're talking old school pics from before digital cameras. It ought to be fun (and funny) to see what I can dig up!



My first Scanner Sunday photo is from the CA Banquet back in 2001. I remember that day I took all three of my ExCET exams-I didn't know you were supposed to space them out and take them one at a time! I took one five-hour test and two 2.5 hour tests. Luckily, I'm a good test taker and passed them all!

Back Blogging

I'm doing a little bit of back blogging since I've haven't been able to keep up lately!

Lubbock Trip

At the beginning of December, Sean and I took a long-awaited trip to Lubbock to meet up with some of our college friends. It was a quick and busy trip, but we had a great time!



The girls with Raider Red!



Sean and I at the 50th anniversary of Carol of Lights. It was so cold I had on long johns (pants and top), jeans, two pairs of socks, a button down shirt, a sweater, a coat, a scarf, a hat and gloves. It's been a long time since I've experienced Lubbock winter weather!



Mmm...calzones at One Guy's!







We walked around Tech on Saturday and took pictures. It was a beautiful day!

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a fun filled trip to Abilene for Thanksgiving. Dad, Sean, Tara and I ran the Turkey Trot 5K that morning. It was my Dad's 4th time to run it, my 3rd and the first for Sean and Tara. It was pretty fun, but I realized that I'm really out of shape! I really don't have the time to run anymore. I didn't embarass myself too badly because I (a.)wasn't the last person to finish-it's happened to me before and (b.)wasn't beaten by my Dad-also happened before. Actually, I'm sure could have beat me, I think he was just being nice :)



While we were running, Caroline helped Mom bake. I know she had fun and it's obvious from the pictures that she was a big help ;)

New Look

I gave my blog a facelift for the holidays, hope you like it. I have to give a HUGE special thanks to Alisa for taking the picture. If you're in the Lubbock area, she's fantastic and I HIGHLY recommend her as a photographer. Not only will she walk through dog poo and lay down in the mud to get a great shot of our family, she's super patient with my indecisiveness. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I like Vol. 2

Sandra Boynton board books



I was first introduced to these when I taught PreK. My classroom came stocked with a collection of them and I instantly fell in love with their hilarious stories. I created my own collection of about 10 from purchases at Ross and TJMaxx. I think I've only bought one from the actual bookstore. I've found some on clearance for as low as 2 dollars! Caroline's been really into reading books lately and these are some of her favorites!



Downy Wrinkle Releaser



I love this stuff! I seriously do not iron anymore, EVER. I always take it on trips in case the clothes in my suitcase get wrinkly. This morning, I sprayed Caroline's corduroy dress for church and it looked good. I mean, it didn't look as great as if my Mom had ironed it, but good is good enough for me!



Suddenly Salad



Wow, that picture is HUGE, but I'm too lazy to change it. (BTW we buy the Classic flavor here at the Beatty house.) Last week, I made a double batch of this. I added a can of diced tomatoes, bringing the total cost of my creation to $3. It fed me three times, Sean once and Caroline got several meals out of it. What a bargain, and it's good! I was telling my Mom about it on the phone the other day and she said "I make that when I don't feel like cooking." Uh...I boiled water, opened a can of tomatoes AND mixed up the dressing. That was cooking, Mom! :)



DQ Banana Split



The Blizzard is now dead to me. I have found a new love. I ordered this last night on a whim and it was FABULOUS! And, it was the perfect way to drown my sorrows while watching my team get beat by OU!

Reasons I am clearly ready for a vacation...

1. Getting out of bed in the morning is excruciating. I'm so tired! Every day I push the snooze a little bit more.

2. I have forgotten to take my class to the library twice this month. It's not really that huge of a deal, but it's a 30 minute break for me. Who forgets to take their break?

3. I dressed my whole family up in our Texas Tech gear on Saturday, only to find out the game wasn't until this weekend. It didn't even occur to me to check the schedule.

4. Showed up to church last night and remembered that church started an hour earlier this week and we missed it.

5. I just put my sister's birthday card in the mail this morning. Her birthday was November 5th.

6. This weekend we needed a new faucet for the sink and I sent Sean and his Dad to pick it out without me because I was too tired to go. I took a nap with Caroline instead.

7. Went to Target last night for milk and cotton balls. Came back with all kinds of other stuff, but no cotton balls.

Thanksgiving holiday can obviously not come soon enough...6 more work days! WOO HOO!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Sorry for the lack of blogging, I've been plagued with bronchitis and a stomach virus over the last few weeks and I'm just now beginning to feel normal again. Here's what we've been up to:



Caroline was a jack-o-lantern for Halloween. The stem was by far my favorite part of the costume...so cute! We went to the Trunk or Treat at church on Sunday and briefly passed out candy at our house on Halloween night.



Caroline's preschool had their fall party. The orange rice krispy treat was a big hit! It was, however, not such a big hit with Dad, who had to change her diaper later.



We took a trip out to the deer lease for the opening day of deer season.



I caught my first fish ever with my pink fishing pole that Sean bought me for my birthday. I was very excited! I actually caught 2 bass while we were there and was having so much fun I didn't want to stop! Please take note that I also touched the fish. It was a great day!


We also enjoyed watching this...and we're hoping to have another win today. Wreck 'em Tech!

6th Folder, 6th Picture

My picture was taken at Ben and Krissy's wedding in Amarillo in December of 2004. That's Shannon and Marcia matching in the red! It was obviously taken early into the polishing off of the Luna di Luna at the reception. Sean and I had our first kiss that night at Bennigan's. There may or may not have been a dare involved. It was really romantic:) Good times, my friends...can't believe that was FOUR years ago!

"Sure, maybe one that says National Champs on it"

That was my reply to the TEA auditor at my school this week when he (mocking my new awesome thermal Texas Tech shirt) asked me if I could wear a different shirt next time he saw me.

I hope I still have a job on Monday.

In my defense, he started it.

Caroline and I have been WAY sick this week with colds, and I just haven't had the energy to post, so I'm going to steal one of Alisa's posts. I hope she doesn't mind.

ENJOY!