Sunday, October 28, 2007

On the Road Again...

It's been 8 months since we moved from VA to FL... so it's about time we move again! :)
This time we are only moving about an hour northeast of Pensacola to Milton.
This is our new house! (that we will be renting)
Cottage Woods Drive
Milton, Florida


I will be taking my first day off of the school year this Friday, Nov 2nd, to help Nolan pack up the house into a U-Hual and drive it to the new house... It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a GARAGE (which we've never had!) and a backyard for Sandi! It has a somewhat of a wierd layout, but simply put the master bedroom is above the garage, and the front door is that tiny space to the left. We will take pictures later. :)
Nolan finished API a week or so ago, so he now has/wears a flight suit! :)
Congrats!

This was the first day that he could wear it...
He starts Primary at Whiting Field on November 5th


This is going back to August, but Sandi graduated from PetSmart Beginner Training class!
She doesn't look too happy.... she's not a fan of sitting still! haha



And for Sandi's lastest acts of mischief...


Gutting Her Toys...
I think they lasted the afternoon...
You can see the green one by her paw and the brown bear in the background on the left...




Digging Holes!
Since she was spayed, two weeks ago Monday, she hasn't gotten out much and she really is going stir crazy! Good thing she stuck to digging down or she might have gotten out!

Helping Nolan take a part the guest bed...


Now for the real scoop! haha ;-)
Nolan's 24th birthday was last Wednesday and I totally forgot the camera! (sorry no pictures :( )We went to TGIFridays for dinner with our good friends, the Butler's. We also went to Best Buy to get a new XBox game... I did get Nolan a card, but for all of the other drama, hadn't found time to get him a gift... what a crappy wife! :( I have to do better!
What drama, you might ask...
Well, as of late, I have come home and cried or just been livid thanks to my oh so crappy teaching assignment. Thank God for an understanding husband, who has done nothing but listen and be supportive! :-)
The school district and school that I teach at are just plain screwed up, and now that we are 10 weeks into the school year, the kids have gone off the scale in the behavior department... They totally run the school (we average one lock-down a week if that tells you anything)
It is all just so ridiculous. So far the school nurse and one of the self-contained teachers have quit. I was going to add my name to that list. I thought about it, thought about how I could try to fix the problem, sought wise counsel, from many different places and finally planned to give my 2 week notice as of last Wednesday and what do you know... last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were GREAT! I felt like a normal person again!
Now tomorrow, Monday, may be back to hell, but I can't help but wonder if God is proving to me that He really will only give you as much as you can handle. I had reached my breaking point and things got better... I have no idea at this point. I will give it another week, and pray that things continue to stay somewhat normal, so that I can stick it out for the remainder of the school year, but there are no guarantees. If I do stay, I will now be making the 45 min commute to and from work... 3 weeks til Thanksgiving break (we get a whole week!) and then 4 weeks til Christmas; survival mode for this, my 2nd year of teaching, is in full gear! Say a prayer! (for Nolan too - that I will stay more like myself!)

Monday, September 03, 2007

Pictures!

End of July...

A bowl I made with some other military wives...
(take notice of my long boring hair here...)


Nolan and Sandi studying for IFS


Nolan's First Solo Flight on August 8th
Milton, Florida



Laying on the couch with Sandi...
I spent a good two weeks in August doing just this...
After a horrible trip to the dentist!

The dentist knew I had TMJ, but still scheduled a 2 hour fillings session!
I had no idea that my TMJ would be as bad/worse than the day I fell of the horse 9 years ago!
Thank God for Naval Medicine...

I made at least 3 trips to the clinic to see a doctor (in about 6 days) and was given various over the counter meds and (eventually) controlled substances to manage my pain... and one trip to the ER for a shot of pain meds.. all paid for by the expense of my husband's military service
(but nothing out of pocket!)
I finally got in to see my dentist on her day off and she made me an NTI
In some ways I guess it was a blessing in disguise... I was having LOTS of headaches before this dentist incident and this NTI was made for headache relief, as well as to help with TMJ... I am excited to say that I have had VERY few headaches since I began wearing the NTI at night... :-)!

Nolan's Osprey Model!
Nolan has taken up a new/old hobby!
This was his first one - now he is on to #3!
Very cool! :-)

Paige is now the Big 2 - 5 !

Because of all of my jaw pain, my birthday outing almost didn't take place! So very glad I started feeling better!

For my birthday, Nolan SURPRISED me with a day at the Day Spa with my best girl friend, Angela!

We got a pedicure, an hour massage, and I got a (somewhat) real hair cut!!
(which I had been telling Nolan I just couldn't find time to go get)
(we also get to go back for a facial, they just didn't have any more appointments)

my toes!

hair in the making!

Ta Da!
(as Madi says when she is done with something)

AND my final surprise...
Dinner with the Butler's! at Tri Fratella
JUST LIKE I HAD MENTIONED WOULD BE FUN! :-)
Thanks Guys!


Madi enjoying the ice cream cake! :-)
It was so good, that after we ate my birthday cake, Nolan went back to DQ and got us another one! :-)

I now have the coolest Texas A&M purse!
Thanks Angela for making it for me!

What a Happy 25th Birthday it was! :-)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Quick Update!

Nolan solo'ed for the first time on the 8th of August! YAY Nolan!

He is done with his 25 hours of IFS as a pilot and will start API on September 14th!

My school (that I teach at) is pitiful. That's the nicest word I can find right now. I almost quit on Day 4 of classes, but thank God day 5 - Friday went better.... It has nothing to do with the kids (discipline and such isn't a problem) and the curriculum is fine too - vague, but fine - so it's EVERYTHING else I never had to deal with at Jane Long.....
A FEW examples -
I started out with 32 kids in each class (was given 24 desks)... the law here is 22 students/class... yet somehow I am down to 28 at the moment, but I get a new kid every period (almost every day) so much for laws?!
I was given 3 reams of paper for the entire school year - I seriously thought it was a joke... It's not.
I can't make overheads without having someone make them for me. (Do I really look that helpless?)
No one talks to me.... they all come right before the bell and leave shortly after the last bell....
I don't have a printer that I can print to that I can actually GET the prints (it goes to someone's room who is of course has GONE HOME by the time I want to print something)
It is all a total joke! I can't imagine quitting, but we will see how the next two weeks go....

My school (FSU classes) are going to keep me busy, but don't look TOO bad, as of yet!

Okay more later....