marcella's · thoughts

these days, all is pretty good. matt's parents sold their home in ohio, despite a poor selling market. i'll miss visiting there but i won't miss driving that distance. unfortunately, we will have to drive to michigan, where they're moving. it's even further,really.
we got pictures done at a studio this weekend when we visited my in laws, and i'll post them for you. jack looks absolutely adorable. he's four months now and has mastered rolling over. he does all sorts of supercute things, like trying to turn the pages when we look at books, and "riding"the pony( ok, any leg he's put on seems to break out the cowboy in that kid), getting excited to watch babytv on youtube or the food network, patting my hand and pulling it towards him to chew on, cooing, trying to talk to us- anything and everything makes me so glad he's my baby.

Dear Matt
You are an awesome new daddy. Every day, I thank God that you are my baby's father. Yes, that sounded like a Jerry Springer title, except, I should have said baby's daddy. There, it now also sounds very Brittny Spears.
But seriously, you are a wonderful father. I appreciate how gently and lovingly you take care of Jack and I. You are kind, supportive and you play great games with him that make him laugh. He likes your diaper changes the best. At the end of the day, when you come home, he smiles more. I'm looking forward to all the adventures in parenting and sharing them with you, like our experiences with projectile poo.
I love you, and so does Jack.

I had the baby at 11.26 pm on Saturday, after 44 hours of labour, 36 unmedicated. He's lovely, 7.5 pounds, 50 cm in length and looks so much like Matt it's hilarious. He's loving nursing and sleeping. More info to come.
Hello, Jack!

my vice principal asked me if i had anyone in mind to replace me when i leave in a few weeks. i had nobody. most of the people i know from teachers' college have permanent jobs already or don't teach in my field. so i ask you, friends from ontario. do you know of anyone who is qualified to teach high school, specifically HISTORY. please, don't forward names of people who teach science, cause that won't help. i need someone who is very familiar not only with canadian history but also civics/politics to take my courses. let me know who they are and have them get in touch with me. i'll forward their resume to my vp and i can pretty much promise that they will get an interview and/or the job. they have to be willing to work in durham, too.

1. Kids stop attending. I don't mind. Less work to mark.
2. If you flail around, fling yourself at the wipeboard or tap dance on their desks, it won't matter. The glazing of the eyes has begun. Revert to lessons involving notes, silent reading or a video. Nothing else will work; don't beat yourself into a bloody pulp trying to get their attention. It's busy running after the ice cream truck.
3. Kids stop attending. It's bloody amazing.

And the number one sign that summer break is approaching? Teachers are looking glazed in the eyes!

Seriously, folks, I"m giddy with anticipation. This is the first summer I've had off since I was 14. I'm getting really excited about our yard. We've put a lot of work into it and I am beginning to see what can be accomplished. I got some flower beds in and an herb garden. I'm going to be working on the planters around the deck this weekend and putting in some more flower and shade beds. I'm still deciding what to do with some spaces but for the most part, I've got my ideas in place.

School is going well, even with the SOASB. I've got all my lessons done for the rest of the year, including the photocopying. I'm supervising the prom this weekend- going 1950s vintage. I'll get pictures. We've got some fun weekend plans that involve having a nice breakfast at Mars or maybe Aunties and Uncles, getting some more flowers/plants and maybe seeing a movie or two. We saw Kinky Boots this weekend, which I heartily recommend. It's quite brilliant. I'm looking forward to some good movies this summer. I'm also getting pretty excited about the Toronto Jazz Festival and the Beaches Jazz shindig. And it's my birthday soon! I'm going to be 27 on June 29th. It seems so old to me. I guess I better get used to it. One can't grow younger, after all.

sometimes you forget how wonderful your own city is until you see it through the eyes of someone else. my sister came down this weekend so we were showing her the sights and to sally, the sights are the shopping sights. we hit the bay at the eatons centre to admire the christmas displays and the narnia window displays are breathtaking. we went to chinatown and to central queen, and to a myriad of other stores. we also went to a bridal shop and sally found her wedding dress. it was pretty easy- it was the first dress she tried on. she says half the battle is over and all she has to do is find someone to marry. today, we went to queen west, yorkville and central avenue road. we stopped and had crepes at this great place near the ROM and went to clafouti out on queen west. i think queen street is one of my favourite roads in the whole city.
sally's face was wonderful to watch when we climbed onto a street car. she'd never been on one before. she looked like a little kid, and was so excited to see casa loma and the bridle path. she loved where we lived and this is the first time she's been to the beaches area or the bluffs.

i'm looking forward to this weekend. it's my first time hosting christmas but i've got a menu plan, and a shopping list and i know i can do this. really, i only have to pick up the fresh turkey already reserved, some other groceries and i'm all set. the baking is almost totally done and my mom is bringing four pies.yes, four. i have no idea how five people can eat four pies, but we'll see.

school is better. much sympathy was offered to me by my compradres on friday, about the fight and the evil awful meeting from hell. the girl who started the fight has been permanently expelled and will likely be going to jail. it turns out she's in my friend michelle's alternative class and michelle was feeling far more upset than i. it's strange, isn't it? when one of our students does something awful or stupid, WE feel like we failed them and are responsible for their horrible decisions. in reality, it's hard to undo 16 years or more of bad parenting, bad environment and personality problems in one semester. we're not gods, no matter how much we feel like we should be.

still not pregnant, though. matt says " give it time" but let's face it- i'm not, nor ever will be a patient person when it comes to something i feel i'm in control of, and yet, i'm not in control of this at all.

well, i should sleep. school is early and i have 3 days of gr 11 movie presentations to endure. eeep.

hello, my real life in toronto peoples....and various parts of ontario

if you are wanting to join in the festivities and wish my happy 26 years of life, i'm having my birthday party on july 2 on the danforth. it's going to start with drinks at a little mexican place ( garibaldi) and then move to a little greek place ( zorbas) where the food is insanely good and absurdly cheap. i can never finish their smallest gyros plate, full with rice, potatoes and salad and it's less than 9 bucks. then we're hitting some pubs/bars/etc for drinks. if you think you'd like to come, i think i'd like to see you! this means anyone who's in the area-hannahm and husband, lissa, scott, sebastian ( bring jeff) jenette( bring adam) ryann, mark, dan, tracey, tony, who ever would like to come and see us, that's where we'll be. amanda and kristin, you'd better show! it's not a party without you guys.

so, let me know if you're coming and i'll adjust the reservations accordingly.

TABLE cellPadding=20 align=center>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="middle">English Genius
You scored 93% Beginner, 93% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 77% Expert! </td></tr>
<tr>
<td>You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

</td></tr>
<tr>
<td align="middle"></td></tr></tbody></table>

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 29% on Beginner You scored higher than 26% on Intermediate You scored higher than 48% on Advanced You scored higher than 72% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

today is matt's birthday! he's 26 today, and even cuter than when i met him two years ago. it seems impossible to believe that it's only been two years. so much has happened in that time frame. there have been so many wonderful changes in our lives, and i'm so grateful that i met such an amazing man.

so, boys and girls if you get a chance, email him or call us to wish him a happy birthday. we're not going to ohio for his birthday, so it's just the two of us today.