Funny stuff my kid says!

For a while now, people have been telling me to blog about funny or just stuff that Madison says.
She is pretty funny sometimes...
So, this is a very quick blog post (because I have 10 minutes before I have to leave for a meeting) but here are a few things... I'm also blogging so that I don't forget about them, cause she's cute!

The other day when Ryan got home..
Ryan:  "Madison, you look beautiful today, I like your shoes"
Madison: "oh, you noticed?  thanks Dad"

Yesterday a country song came on that had the word Alabama in it and she heard me earlier in the day tell my mother in law that my parents are in Alabama with their motorhome...
Madison:  Mom, you know who's in Alabama... (pause)... Mimi and Bampa...
Me:  Yes, that's right hunny...
Madison:  Mom, what's Alabama?
Me:  Well, it's a state?
Madison:  A state?  So like, they're visiting Alabama?
Me:  Yes, they're visiting Alabama.
Madison:  Well, what does she look like?
Me:  Who?
Madison:  Alabama, the one they're visiting?
Me:  Oh, no Maddie, Alabama is not a person they're visiting, its a place.  A State.
Madison:  Oh.  Alabama is a state.
Me:  Yes, a state, you know how we live in Massachusetts?  Well, Massachusetts is the state that we live in... there are a lot of people in this world, and some live in Massachusetts like us, but some live in other states, like Alabama....
Madison:   Mom, where does the sun go when it goes to sleep?
Me:  Well, you know how around lunchtime the sun is way up high in the sky?
Madison: Yep.
Me:  Ok, well as the day goes on, the sun moves further and further down (I used my hands for this part even though we were in the car headed to Target)... and then when it goes to sleep it goes way down to the other side of the world.
Madison:  Oh, so does it go to Alabama when it goes to sleep?
Me:  Umm... well...
Madison:  Or behind Target?


I'll continue a few as I remember them... I had just recounted the Target trip to Ryan and he agreed that I should be documenting some of this stuff!!  So there you have it...

at a loss for words....

... not because something bad happened (which is usually why someone says that phrase), but because every time I have a chance to blog, I can not for the life of me think of things to blog about.  However, when I am going through my every day life, I will do something or see someone and think, "that would make a great blog entry". 

A few things are going on lately that I'm apprehensive about.  Mostly with my work.  As you've noticed, I love my job.  I love most of the people that I work with, and I love working at this school and with this department.  Ryan is in a good school system and there is potential for him to stay there and continue moving up.  Madison is in a school system that so far (its only been a few weeks) she loves.  I don't want to have to introduce her to a new system when she's in second or third grade.  I always felt so bad for those kids in school...

So, two years ago, while the Housing Operations Coordinator was out on maternity leave, I got to do her job as an interim position.  I loved it.  I continuously joked that if she ever left, I'd jump at the chance to do her job.  I knew, though, that she'd never leave.  Her husband also works for BSU and they just bought a house in the area. 

However, she just gave her two week notice last week and accepted a job with a software company.  As you can imagine my heart started beating wildly when I heard this!!  seriously, is this a possibility??  Would I even be considered to apply for this job?  I really want that job.  I loved it so much when I did it when she was on maternity leave... LOVED IT! 
all these thoughts run through my head... wait, am I ready to move up, well, I know I am, but do my supervisors feel that I am?  Have I done enough to prove myself to the people that matter?  More importantly and really more the issue: am I ready to move off.  Currently, although I don't get paid much more than peanuts, I don't have to pay rent, utilities, internet fees, cable, ANYTHING... it's all included.... SO really, wherever I move, if I do go off, will result in a technical pay cut.  Something that is not going to be easy.  We're currently living paycheck to paycheck as it is.

There are so many what ifs that still surround this whole thing...

Firstly, they might be reorganizing the whole department because of this vacancy now... If they do that and create an assistant director position, I'd want to go for that job too.  If I did that, would it be summer conferences?  Does that mean I can't take a vacation in the summer?  I do live for my summer trips... however, not vacationing in the summer would save us money... I did a great job at the summer conference portion of my job; in fact, there were many times last summer that I had to pick up the slack for others and I did that pretty well too!  I don't mind that stuff, when I know what I'm doing, I like to do it!

Then again, they're not sure if they'll reorg the department so if they don't, will they increase the current salary for that position?  If not, can I afford to go for the job.  I've figured out a certain amount that we can live off of, and the current salary is not it!  And... all of this is so uncertain!! I haven't even heard formally what they're doing, if they're doing anything, and actually, I haven't heard from her mouth that she's leaving... just rumors....

So yes, there's a lot on my mind lately.  Mentally, I am very ready to move up.  I'm ready to supervise professional staff members and not students.  I like working with students, but I am definitely feeling the age difference when supervising them. 

I'm ready to move up.  I'm ready for new challenges.  I'm ready for the Lord to direct me where He wants me to go.  I'm listening Lord...

Creepy Crawly....

So my friend Kate wrote about her adventure with a cricket, which inspired me to recount our adventure last Sunday.

As Ryan and I were sitting on the couch at about 10pm, our cat, Jezzy jumped off the couch and ran over to the side of the TV.  (The TV is up agains a half wall that is right behind the stairs that lead to outside)....
Jezzy jumped forward and then quickly learched backwards and her tail poofed out like it only does when she's freaked out!

Immediately, I looked at Ryan and said, "What is she freaking out about?"

"I don't know, think it's fly?"  He asked....

"no way, she doesn't do that for a fly... I bet its another freaking spider!!"

(You must understand that over the past three months we found two huge spiders  in the apartment, the first being in Madison's bed!!!   The second in the living room!  They looked much like this: )

Then I get up to go check it out.  Behind the TV, Ryan has his work bag and a few wiffle ball bats and a baseball bat.  So I start pulling that stuff out out while Ryan is standing behind me and suddenly he starts screaming,

"OH MY GOD!! HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!!!"

At this point, I can't see what he's screaming about and for a second I wonder, "Is he trying to freak me out, but wait, he wouldn't scream that loud if he was, he's going to wake up Maddie".... and then he screams,

"ITS A SNAKE!!!!!!"


At that moment, he grabs the baseball bat and starts slamming it on the floor...

BLUDGEONING THE SNAKE!!!!!!!!


And as soon as he realized what he was doing, he dropped (or threw) the bat and ran out of the room.... Did I mention my husband is petrified of snakes?  I mean seriously petrified!

So then I look down and see that this said snake is not coiled up anymore like it was when he first stopped beating it, instead it had uncoiled and was moving!!!

I picked up the bat and continued beating it!!!

I realized that there was blood all over the bat and the rug...  and there was a terrible smell, and the fricken snake was STILL moving!!!

So I beat it a few more times, and Ryan crouched in the corner watching as I grabbed a paper towel and put it in a large ziplock bag (because I wanted our facilities manager to see it and tell me that it's friends and family would not be coming back! - and it's protocol around here that if you find a bug or something you're supposed to save it so they can identify and spray or whatever they need to do to make sure its friends don't come around...)

As I was carrying the bag (btw I double bagged it) to Joe (our Facilites Manager's office) I realized the damn thing was still moving!!! GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!

I've done my best to identify what type of a snake it was, and it was NOT an innocent garter snake, as many would assume!! 

This is the best picture we have of what it looked like: 



We also are not positive how it got in the apartment, other than a carpenter coming to look at our door (which until the other day had a small hole at the bottom of the door sweep) who thinks that is how it and the large spiders got in....

Ryan was so freaked out all night long... when I came back from bringing the bludgeoned snake to Joe's office, Ryan was sitting on the edge of the couch staring at the corner of the room where the snake was....
He said, "You need to job search - we can't stay here"

I reminded him that once at RIC when I lived there, Jezzy caught and killed a small garter snake while I was away one night... so really, this could happen anywhere we live....

Either way, it was disgusting, we still freak anytime Jezzy jumps up to go look at something... and we're pretty proud of our white furball for saving our lives!!!