“Ms. Thompson, why’s dose a Rat trick us today?”

…

We had a green leprechaun visit us today. He left green footprints and hand-prints all over the playground. He also sneakily put green sprinkles on our yogurt. 

…

We ate Lucky Charms for snack. We were Lucky and also magically Charmed.

…

I ate a dark chocolate snickers on my break. I was a little disappointed.

…

I SHOULD be writing thank you notes.

…

I bought 2 bags of plastic Easter Eggs for $2 @ the dollar tree. I put little sweet notes in them and hid them all through the house for Alex. Since being in a relationship with Alex, I have loved brainstorming creative ways to show him how much I adore him.

…

In honor of St. Rat-tricks Day, I’m watching Darby O Gill and the Little People. It’s an old Disney movie I used to watch when I was little.  Sean Connery is one of the main characters. He is young and quite the looker.  All I remember about this movie is that there is a really scary scene with a storm. The last time I watched this movie I was 8 or 9 and it still scares me today. There is a greenish ghost called, the banshee, and she’s pretty horrifying. She summons the death carriage and as scarring as it sounds the graphics for a 1980’s Disney movie are amazing.

…

I forgot to watch LOST.

I’ve tried explaining the situation to my 4 year olds at school.

The same conversation keeps occurring.

“When I get married my name will be Mrs. Anderson, not Ms. Thompson.”

“Why is your name gonna be different?”

“Because I’m getting married.”

“Are you gonna look different?”

“No, I’ll still look the same.”

“Are you ever coming back to this school?”

“And I’ll still be at this school.”

“Are you going to Blue door now?” (The older classroom.)

“Nope, I’ll still be in Purple door.”

“If your gonna be the same why is your name different?”

“Because I’m getting married to a boy named Anderson, so that’s going to be my name too.”

“Why can’t you have your own name?”

“Because I’m getting married and that will be my own name.”

“When will you be Ms. Thompson again?”

“Never.”

At this point, I’m getting a bit nostalgic about being Ms. Thompson.

They are really worried about the “new name” thing. Everyday at lunch we have this conversation.

EVERYDAY.

Some are more worried about it than others.

The others are announcing the new revelation to parents, teachers, other children and my director.

And it usually sounds like:

“Thompson’s getting married and she’s not gonna be Thompson no more, she’s gonna be Mrs. Anderson, but she’s not going to look different and she’s still going to this school and we’re gonna say Mrs. Anderson, not Ms. Thompson, because she’s getting married to a boy and when you get married your name becomes Mrs. Anderson, but it’s okay if we forget and call her Ms. Thompson.”

EVERYDAY.

I really dislike losing the hour.

I, however, do enjoy the extra hour of sunlight. It felt a little like summer today.

Didn’t you feel like you should have been grilling?

Or laying in a hammock reading?

Perhaps both simultaneously  for those of you who are talented.

Alex and I took a GREAT walk today. And I mean GREAT like,

an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average.

I’m only saying that because we stopped halfway through to check out the reception hall and argue discuss the cake table and palm tree situation, so it seemed extra GREAT today.

I love our walks. We talk about everything and it gives us the opportunity for some optimal hand holding. Plus, I get to be outside which is one of my favorite things.

We met our neighbor who lives across the street. I do not remember her name, but she was very friendly & around our age.

We then drove to Pier 1 for the 2nd time this week to pick up our new dining room table. The first time we went it was pouring down rain & the box was a lot bigger than we thought. Today we came in my Pops blazer, which ironically, is not big enough either. We were not deterred. We left the box at Pier 1 and fit just the table into the back of the blazer.

It really is a beautiful table.

Today is Pi day. I felt like I needed to add that, because I’m not sure how often Pi day AND daylight saving time share the spotlight.

Stellar day.

Bike day tomorrow!

until I become Mrs. Anderson.

The stress has subsided for now & I’m enjoying my last moments as a single lady. I thought it would be a hard transition, since I’ve been single FOR-EVER-VER-VER-VER.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll miss sitting in MY room, on MY bed, vegging out with MY Mac.

I’ll miss my many stacks of books being within my reach at a moments beckoning.

I’ll miss my laundry piled wherever.

I’ll miss my little boxes of trinkets, beads, scraps of artistic material that I keep just in case.

I’ll really miss my newly painted green walls that took me over a month to paint by myself.

I’ll miss my lovely blue dresser with the super huge drawers that I bought after my trip to Africa with my leftover income tax check.

I’ll miss my T.V. that has 7 remotes, but none of which work.

My Starry Night poster by Vincent Van Gogh that Kaley bought me for my birthday.

I’ll miss my closet. My adequately small closet that I don’t share with anyone.

I’ll miss my big, red E, with black polka dots, that I painted on a girls weekend in Jacksonville.

I’ll miss my front window view.

I’ll miss throwing away receipts.

I’ll miss my Africa clad comforter. I really will miss it. It’s light & fluffy, but keeps me warm.

I’ll miss my bed. Also from Ikea. Low and, well mine. All mine.

It’s hard to let go of some things only because I’ve held on to them for so long.

BUT…

I’m also looking forward to a new beginning with Alex.

I’m excited about the new version of me.

Emily Marion 2.0

I think there may be lots of tears, moments of frustration, deep breaths and “uh-oh’s”, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be come out the other side confident, multi-tasker and maybe even a little bit organized.

I’m not making any promises about the “organized” part.

Changes are hard for me. Doesn’t mean they’re not good for me.

Until I become Mrs. Anderson!

I just want to stop and enjoy the moment.

I really cannot wait to become Alex’s wife.

I want to jump up and down and scream out the excitement and cry happy tears and laugh and dance a funky wife dance.

I am. SO. Happy!

The weird part is that before I met Alex I wasn’t unhappy. Actually, I would have considered myself content and happy. I WAS content and happy. Once I met him it’s like the happiness scale just reached new heights.  It’s like I’m on a different scaling system.

It’s weird really. In a matter of minutes I went from being his girlfriend to fiancee. I hope he knew how much I liked being his girlfriend. Now I’m looking at becoming his wife and I hope he knows how much I like being his fiancee.

This is a couple of months after the fact, but I just remembered the story and wanted to blog about it.

About 2 months ago I was having lunch with 20 3 & 4 yr. olds, when A, the quiet one, announces he has Kermit Slides.

Not sure I heard him right I say “Kermit Slides?”

“No. Kermit Slides.”

“KERMIT. SLIDES?”

“NO. Kermit Slides!”

This is when the other children realize I need help, so in true childlike fashion a chorus of chatter begins…

“He said Kermit Slides.”

“I have those shoes.”

“No, not Kermit, he said Hermit.”

“I have a Hermit crab.”

“I’ve been on that slide before!”

“My mom took me to that slide at backyard adventures.”

“My Kermit slides are green.”

“I don’t have a hermit crab.”

“Mine are pink!”

“I like pink!”

“I went on a pink slide.”

“My mom took me to that slide!”

“I have kermit slides!”

“It’s not pink, it’s a green slide!”

Astonishingly enough, I was still confused, so I send A to my co-worker to tell her.

He says “Kermit slides.”

My co-worker is now struggling to decipher his words.

Then S, a little spit fire blonde, says “Christmas lights?”

And A says “Yea. Kermit slides.”

Oh.

I’m headed back to work tomorrow. I had to work this past week, but we were low on kids and it was a 4 day week, so it kind of doesn’t count.

Tomorrow begins the first full week of the year! No days off or vacation until… the wedding!

Hopefully it will go by quickly. Maybe too quickly.

Either way I’m excited to get back into the swing of things. This week we are talking about “How to Dress for Winter!” I saved all the packing peanuts from Christmas and have a lot of fun games/activities planned.

We have several solid lesson plans happening in the next couple of months and this makes me happy! I love the holidays, but when it comes to lesson plans, you can get bogged down with the “traditional responsibilities.”

One thing I am excited about is a game we made up. We’re calling it The Big Sneeze. We have noticed that the boys in our class never want to play at the table with our “academic” activities. They want to play on the floor with the trucks, blocks, legos etc. It’s become an ongoing struggle battle in which we have to make them participate.

SO, we have decided to outsmart them at their own game. I made HUGE paper mittens and taping them to the floor. Each mitten has a number on it & you have to stack that # of blocks in the mitten. Once you have them stacked you get to “sneeze” and knock all the blocks down. The Big Sneeze. They are going to love it AND learn how to count! :::evil laugh:::

Oh yeah. My resolutions for this year:

• learn how to cook the most amazing blueberry pancakes.

• paint more.

Look out 2010!

I LOVE pancakes.

I also, HATE pancakes.

I love them because they’re good, they’re filling, you can put blueberries in them, you can pour syrup over them, you can slather them with butter or peanut butter, sprinkle them with sugar, add bananas or chocolate chips. I mean really what’s not to love about pancakes.

I do hate them though, because I can’t make them. I’ve tried for years and occasionally I’ll get a good one, but for the most part, my pancakes are barely edible.

Maybe this is why I fail.

I always want pancakes when I’m REALLY hungry. Pancakes take time to make. Maybe I always try to rush the process. I feel like there are many factors that go into cooking pancakes and I always mess up one. Thus ruining the pancake.

I’ve always heard…

•make sure the griddle/pan is hot

•use a greased pan (does it matter if I use butter or PAM?)

•the texture of the batter can’t be too thick, or likewise, too runny.

•size matters. Too big you can’t flip. Too small you end up with 1,800 pancakes.

•wait until the edges start to bubble

I assure you I’ve followed these guidelines and still I end up with scrambled, burnt, runny and just down right ugly pancakes.

I’ve used the “just add water” kind, but they were WAY too runny.

Help me. I just want some pancakes.

I’ve started another blog.

It’s more for wedding updates and info. Check it out @ www.futureandersons.blogspot.com 

Also, about the whole “wedding-planning thing.” I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I’ve been engaged ALMOST 1 week & already stressed.

In an attempt to enjoy the holiday, remain de-stressed and festive we are waiting until after the New Year to start making decisions.

I just want to keep it small, simple and elegant. That’s possible right?