Back to School - Already??!!

Aden and I have wrapped up our summer. It's sad, I know.

I was in Sacramento for a very cool conference in mid-July. It was 101 degrees out, but with that dry air... well, you know what they say. I am such a Midwesterner, though, that my contacts were fried to my eyes by Tuesday, and I had a scratchy throat by Wednesday. I need humidity.
The hotel we stayed at was directly across the street from the state capitol building, and we learned that Arnold Schwarzenegger lived in the 14th floor penthouse - not in the Gov.'s mansion. Sure enough, we stumbled upon Arnold and entourage having dinner by the pool on Wednesday evening! You know - he's only 5'10!! That was the only celebrity sighting in glamorous (really?) Sacramento.

Aden was staying home with Daddy and KK, as well as Grandma Linda and Zaide. He had a GREAT time, and probably didn't even notice I was gone. The week after I got back was our last official week of summer. We did the usual pool, park, library, Wonderlab routine, and had a great time. Aden is such an observer - his attention span is loooonnnng! Some things I've been noticing about him lately are that he is fascinated with studying small things he can get a hold of, he narrates everything he does right as he does it, and he has no desire to take physical risks! He is definitely not a "climber," as they say. Just a sweet little guy who loves to cuddle and give kisses, and will talk your ear off! Sometimes I wonder if he'll stop talking long enough to eat.

I am back in the office and school starts on August 10th. Early start, early dismissal! My principal, Paul White, has resigned and moved to a different school in Southern Indiana. I will really miss him - he was an excellent leader. Our other Asst. Principal and Athletic Director, Eric, will be taking the helm, which is the best possible transition. A very exciting time for everyone... even though we're SO SHORT HANDED! My job has doubled, but this is only temporary. I am sure we'll replace Eric's position by mid-Sept. And kids are always angels at the beginning of the year, right? I won't have any discipline issues to deal with, right?

I'm not sure what traveling I'll be doing until September, when I'd like to either go home to Belleville or up to see the Marys and their brood. Time to buckle up here in Bloomington and get ready for school to start!

A Midsummer Update

Greetings from Bloomington... Aden is fast asleep, lulled to dreamland by the Bloomington Speedway Friday Night Special. Really - it shakes our glassware, the stock car races are so close. But we love it! Can't sleep without the roaring of the engines every Friday night. You wouldn't catch me dead there, however. Not really my scene.

New roomie Jackie will finish moving in tomorrow! Aden is excited to hear the garage door open and always greets her with a coy little smile and "Hi Jackie!" He wanted to hang out with her today when she was organizing her spices in the kitchen - we let him smell the cinnamon, which went up his nose and in his mouth somehow, in a matter of about .8 seconds. I don't know if he smelled anything, though, because he has caught a midsummer cold. Runny nose - nothing Benadryl can't help.

We have been having a great time at the pool! Aden plays by himself for a good three or four minutes before he looks for me at the edge of the water. Not quite enough time for me to enjoy a leisurely read, or even flip through a magazine, or small pamphlet, actually. I don't take my eyes off of him. Worried he'll get into it with a three-year-old. I'll have to get a camera so I can get some cute pics of him in the pool.

Aden has been counting to 15 lately!! I highly doubt he understands the value of the numbers, or anything like that, but I'm glad he has the sequence memorized! Pretty cool! He's also getting better at singing. He can do the words and somewhat of a rhythm for a few songs now, which is fun.

I'm off to California Sunday morning at 4:45am! Looking forward to the conference - especially after the itinerary was emailed to us. Whoa, will we have a lot of free time! Sunday is totally open, Monday doesn't really have more than a lecture from 3-5pm, and the rest of the week is just about 8:30 - 4pm! Yay! (I'm going to have to remind myself that I have no spending money available right now... this will be tough!)

And another update about me - yes, yes, I am now on Facebook. If you're reading this blog, you're probably aware of it. I've caught up to 2007. Hooray for me!

Too bad I had to miss the 2nd Kurt Mueller Memorial Concert! It was Thursday, July 9th in Belleville, and they had a great reggae band again. Apparently, it went off without a hitch in the sweltering heat, and everyone had a wonderful time. I know Kurt would have. I miss him a lot lately. He would have been a calming presence for me during this crazy time. Actually, just thinking about him is calming. I'll just have to do that.

Time for bed! Busy day tomorrow - Farmer's Market with the Makis, play time with Aden, and then I have to pack for Cali. Good night.