Yowzer!

So we got cocky. I think that's what happened. We painted our whole main floor and it turned out beautiful. We had the advice of my lovely sister Cindy, who helped us every step of the way. We got the right paint, the right color, and painted it the right way. We knew what we were doing. This isn't so hard, right? Ready for Afton's room!
We already have the bedding for her. It's SO cute. Here's a picture of her blanket. How hard is it to match the paint with the bedding we already have? We wanted stripes. We wanted a chair rail. We wanted a dark solid color. Did we consult Cindy? Did we get a second opinon? Did we make sure we were not insane? No. We just bought. And painted. And this is what we got...




**Cue circus music**









As you can see, Trevor isn't so sure about it...
It isn't done, of course. There's much more. Finishing all the OTHER walls, and putting up the white chair rail in the center, which will have little green leaves painted on it. Then of course filling it with furniture. MAYBE it will be ok. Did we go to dark? Probably. Will it be ok? Ummm...I don't know. All we can do is numbly cry out "Yowzer!" Every time we look at it. What do YOU think? Don't worry, I'll post a finished picture whenever the far off day arrives...

Surprise Baby Shower!

So I had a fabulous experience yesterday. On Thursdays I teach my ballroom team after school. We go from 3:00 to 4:30 every week, and then on the 23rd of January they will perform at the talent show. Anyway, yesterday as 7th period was about to get out, I heard the main office calling downa slew of kids--and realized that every one of them was on my team. Hmmm. I called the main office and asked about it, and they were like, "What? No we didn't." And I was confused. Then I go to get my cd case to head down to practice, and it's gone. Must have left it with the cd player. So I go to the auditorium to get the CD player, which I would then wheel to the lunchroom where we practice, just like every week. No cd player. What's going on? At this point you'd think I'd catch on. Well, I thought something MIGHT be up, but I couldn't figure out what the occassion would be. It's not my birthday, we aren't performing for months, and maybe I was just being self-agrandizing. So I headed to the lunchroom, where one of my students stopped me to say she had to leave ballroom early. (She was really just trying to stall me apparently.) I headed in, and saw no one in the lunchroom. What? Then they all jumped out from behind the wall and threw balloons at me!

I was so surprised! They had a cake, tons of balloons, a cute gift and had even pitched in money for me to buy Afton something. And they made me this really cute poster.
I don't post pictures of my students on my blog, of course, but I figure these are small enough you can't really see their faces. The day before they all gathered and took pictures of themselves in funny poses, then they all wrote notes on the poster for me, telling me how much they appreciated my efforts and how much I had taught them and changed their lives.

When you are a teacher, you don't get many paydays like THAT.

Of course I was all crying, which was exactly what they wanted. They launched into the details of how they had planned it, sneaking in a cake early in the morning and getting the lunch ladies to keep it in the fridge, blowing up the balloons frantically before I arrived and sending Angel out to stall me--it was so cute. The whole thing was instigated by Nicki, a student I had on team last year who comes back with Nick, another kid from team last year, who help me choreograph. They are so awesome and helpful! And Nicki's friend Rachelle was awesome too. It's so amazing to see these kids being so unselfish, thinking of others, and taking the time to do something like that. It was the first time any of them had planned a party, and they did such a good job. I am truly blessed!

24 Weeks!

So Jodster asked me to put a belly picture on my blog. I thought, "that's a good idea." But then I always forget to take it. So in 1st period today I had one of my 9th graders take a picture for me. They all thought I was weird. Well, when I told her I wanted a belly picture her eyes got all big, and then I explained that I would NOT be doing a BARE belly picture and she wasn't as freaked out. So yeah, that's me in my classroom this morning. The wierd thing is, I haven't yet gained any weight in my pregnancy--which really IS weird because when I wasn't pregnant I was gaining weight all the time! So today I'm 24 weeks exactly. (Yes, that is a bat in the background. It has "Mrs. Rees' Big Red Bat" written on it. I use it to intimidate students and make them type faster. Well, not really, but the kids live in anticipation that I will. And yes, I said "anticipation" not "fear." They REALLY want me to pull that bat out...but I rarely do. Still, it's a symbol of my power and I keep it in a place of honor!)

Before and After Pictures!

So I'm back. It's been a long, lonely weekend without an internet connection--one of the evils of getting a new house. Of course we didn't think to call super early to get them to come install internet. So we went a WEEK without it. A week! They are SUPPOSED to come today around 3:00--let's see if that happens. But it's Utah Broadband, not Comcast, so maybe they will actually show up. We'll see. Anyway, I thought I'd post a few before and after pictures of my house! Some of you have already seen the before pictures, but on Saturday I cleaned my house from top to bottom and then took pictures! Yes, I'm so proud. Every box is unpacked except for the "junk box" in the computer room--you know, the one you throw everything in that you aren't sure what to do with. Well, we don't know where to put it in our new house either. So it's still sitting there, laughing at me. Anyway, here we go!




Thi is the Laundry room/Bathroom. Not much different except we painted the walls and added our NEW AWESEOME WASHER AND DRYER! We got them on KSL. Front loaders, energy savers, LG Tromm's for $1,000 total! SUCH a deal! They are SO amazing to use!





This is the tumor. Yes, we are still planning to tear it off. But it might be as long as summer before we can. So we painted it. As you can see, Tarzan likes it. He's the only one. Doesn't look so bad now, but it's still ugly as sin from the outside!





This is room we call the "great room" (it sounds so cool when you call it that) As you can see we totally repainted it. And boy was it a pain in the butt! But it sure made a difference! Can't wait to replace those pendant light with something a little less 80's though...




And here's the LOVELY living room! No furniture really for it yet, but doesn't that red wall look freakin' awesome?? Cindy did a fabulous job taping it off so the lines are perfect. man, what a pain that is!





And last the kitchen. Of course we're getting a new kitchen in a few months so it will look much better, but even tearing off the ugly green border and painting it made a world of difference.


So that's my house! We're having an openhouse on Saturday from 4:00 - 8:00 so feel free to stop by!

Tagged! 8 Things...

Thanks for tagging me, Kel! AND I was the first on the list! I'm so honored!

8 TV shows I like to watch - I don't have cable, and my reception is horrible, so lets see if there ARE 8 shows I watch.

1. Pushing Daisies (when I remember its on)
2. Big Bang Theory (when I remember its on)
3. Wipeout
4. Law & Order: SVU
5. Little House on the Prairie (I told you, I only have like five channels. There's nothing else ON! And it really bugs Trevor. Until the other day I caught HIM watching it! Can't convert him to the Brady Bunch, though.)
6. Ummm...News? Watch that a lot!
7. The Office (I used to. Now I forgot when it's on. But I love that show.)
8. Urg! Can't think of anymore!

8 Things that Happened Yesterday

1. Urg. The Server went down and none of my students could log in, and I had to make them read all period every day because there was nothing to teach without computers! And they are STILL down this morning, so I guess we're watching a movie or something. We played Deal or No Deal yesterday and they are all going to beg to play it today but I'll have to be firm. Can't let them have TOO much fun. This is school.
2. I actually unpacked about three boxes that are the "leftover" boxes at the house. The ones that are full of stuff that's not absolutely necessary so they stay unpacked for a while.
3. Played the Sims for as long as I could get away with--while TREVOR made dinner! Yeah!
4. Ate yummy brown sugar meatloaf leftovers for lunch
5. Weighed myself. I look SO pregnant, but somehow haven't gained any weight yet! Wahoo! (Of course, I kinda looked pregnant BEFORE I was pregnant...I've been "showing" for years.)
6. Watched my kitty wander the new house aimlessly meowing for Trevor to come home and wishing he could go outside. But mean Daddy won't let him yet.
7. Used a DISHWASHER. WOW. Haven't had one for 10 months and it was total misery! Oh the miracle that a dishwasher is!!
8. Almost finished my book, "Dairy Queen," which I love and highly reccommend.

8 Favorite Places to Eat

1. Costa Vida (NOT Cafe Rio. Sorry. It's ok but it's not in my top eight.)
2. Del Taco
3. Arbys
4. TGI Fridays
5. Thaiphoon (only when we feel rich.)
6. Indochine
7. Bombay House or Taste of Punjab
8. Olive Garden (it's sad how easy this list was to compile...)

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. The end of today when Ballroom Club is OVER and all I have to do is Ballroom Team!
2. The Talent Show in January when my Ballroom Team peforms! And then it's OVER!
3. My computers actually working again, so I can get back to work!
4. The baby coming. I guess. Actually I'm terrified.
5. SUMMER!!! (Ah, the perks of being a teacher...)
6. CHRISTMAS BREAK! (Ah, the perks of being a teacher...)
7. Getting my new kitchen in March!
8. Getting my CherishBound yearbook printed and in the mail!

8 Things on my Wish List

1. For baby Afton to be healthy and happy when she comes!
2. For Trevor to have a REALLY big month at work so we can beef our savings back up again!
3. A jetted tub upstairs. Really--our tub SUCKS. It's got one of those straight backs so you can't lean back and relax in the tub. I'm just sure a MAN designed it.
4. For the rest of the rooms in my new house to be magically painted so I don't have to do it. We are SO sick of painting!!
5. To have a $10,000 gift card to Home Depot or Lowe's. I get it now. I'm addicted to home improvement.
6. To have the TUMOR removed from the back of my house and everything repaired.
7. To get a second kitty! I'm really pushing Trevor on this one!
8. To magically have money for Christmas. Looks like this year our Christmas is just the house!

And even though it wasn't on the original list, I'm adding one because I feel inclined to do so.

8 Things I'm Grateful For:

1. My husband
2. My healthy baby
3. My beautiful new house
4. A GARAGE. What a remarkable thing a garage is?
5. The practically new FRONT LOADING washer and dryer we got for $1,000 total! AMAZING!
6. My awesome friends!! I love you all! (Especially those who have bothered to read this far!)
7. My new ward. Haven't been to chruch yet but I've met tons of people and you shoudl have seen how many people showed up to help us move in!
8. My job and Trevor's job--they make everything possible!

I have to tag 8 people now, but Kelly got most of the people I konw who blog...
1. Cindy
2. Jodster
3. Rusty (yeah right...)
4. While we're getting unrealistic--Molly.
5. Leslie
6. Nicki. Again.
7. Lisa
8. Umm..I'm out of blogging friends.

The Goldfish Story

So I feel really bad that I don't even THINK to post funny stories when they happen to me. And I really wish I was as good as Jodster and remembered to take in-action photos during the entire event. I realized that this event, which happend over a week ago, might be a fun addition to my blog. This, my friends, is the Goldfish story.
As you know, I teach 7th graders. Every quarter we do this huge project where the kids make soap. See that link for details. After they make their soap as a group, we have a big Soap Fair in the media center, where the kids set up their table and display their soap and poster. Three classes come through and vote on their favorite soap, and each time they get a vote, it counts as a sale. Well, I also allow the kids to give away candy or whatever in order to improve their sales. This quarter I had a kid get the brilliant idea of giving away live goldfish. Now, he didn't actually clear it with me, if it would be ok to give away live animals. He just brought them.

So I go over to his table to see what they are doing. It's 4th period, so about midway through the day. He's got this cardboard box, and in the box is a goldfish bowl full of goldfish--most of which are dead, because these poor buggers have been in his locker all day.

And all goldfish do pretty much is die anyway.

So it's too late to stop him now. He's got these ziploc bags and he's putting a fish in them to give to kids who vote for their soap. What the crap these kids are going to do with a bag full of water and a half-dead fish for the rest of the day is beyond me. Probably put them in THEIR lockers, where they can have a sad end like their brothers before them.

The next morning during 2nd period, we are calculating scores to see who made the most money at the Soap Fair. (This kid's group, by the way, actually made the most money in his class...guess the fish worked.) So during 2nd period I go in my backroom to get something. Lots of the kids put stuff back there after the fair to pick up later. Apparently, this kid did too. He thought it would be a great idea to keep a couple of his dead fish in there.

So it stinks to high heaven as soon as I open the door. My girly 7th graders are all covering their noses, even though they are on the opposite side of the room. I'm TICKED. I called the janitor to come get the fish. It's not like I can just throw them away in the hallway and inspire MORE girly junior high girls to cover their noses and act like it's the corpse of a HUMAN they are smelling.

So this kid comes in 4th period and I let him have it. I was kind of laughing, though, because it WAS funny. Did he say sorry? No, he says, "Oh! What about the ones still in my locker?" I told him I didn't give a rats about the fish in his locker. But apparently HE did. Because later that day, I go in my backroom again, which has been open to air it out, and there's that stupid bowl full of fish in my back room! HE WENT AND GOT THEM FROM HIS LOCKER AND PUT THEM IN MY BACKROOM. Does he learn nothing?? I wonder to myself, at what point is he going to come pick them up? Not by the end of the day, I can tell you that. The final bell rings and those stupid fish are still there. About 10 of them and only one dead. I call him down to my room, but he doesn't answer. He takes the bus home. What is his plan here? When is he gonna take them home? I had to teach ballroom so I left them in my room, hoping he'd come get them. Next morning, I come in my room, and about five are still alive and the rest are dead. How long since they've been fed?

I was done. I flushed them. That's right, I'm a murderer. I took them to the bathroom and flushed them all, alive and dead. And was darned happy about it. The kid seemed kinda relieved 4th period when I told him what he'd done. At least he took the empty bowl home...I fined him $1000 from his winnings of the soap fair. And from now on, NO LIVE ANIMALS ALLOWED!!!

My (our) Halloween Costume

Well, despite my previous post about no costume for Halloween, I did actually manage to make one for myself after all! Trevor did not get a new costume--he wore his musketeer costume to work in hopes of winning the costume contest--which was TOTALLY rigged and unfair by the way. URG! If he'd won we would have gotten Jazz tickets! Anyway, he was cool about it. He's just happy whenever he can wear his Aragorn boots.

As for me, I made the costume that I've been wanting for three years now. I saw a lady at the mall with one like it and told myself that when I was pregnant one day, I'd have a costume like THAT. It cost me $26.00 to make. I painted it all freehand--not the best job in the world, but I liked how it turned out. And it was so comfortable! Too bad it's not one I can wear every year without making some kind of false announcement. So any my friends out there who are pregnant over Halloween in the future--you know where to come to borrow a costume!