My Presidents: Part Four: Madison

Madison Dolley Weitl is definitely Bo's first cat. I truly feel like she must have a maternal instinct, as she is the cat that is with Bo the most and is always wanting to be by him and play with him. I thought Lincoln would take to him more -- but Maddie is definitely his companion.

This is Maddie hanging out in my school bag after the IVF that I became pregnant with Bo. Even during my time at home on "bedrest" after IVF and during my pregnancy, she hardly left my side. I think she knew...

She allows him to play cars on her back, pet her, lay on her, chase her, poke her, etc. And she is never mean about any of it. Bo's definitely lucky to have such a friendly and loving cat to be his playmate!

Maddie was the fourth cat that came to live with us in the fall of 2003. Mike was staying with his parents for the weekend so I was home alone. Mom came over to take me out to lunch and on her way in the door saw this cat on our porch. Maddie looks a lot like Reagan or Wilson so she thought one of them had gotten outside. Mom brought Maddie in and put her down explaining how she had been out on the porch.

I went over and picked the cat up. "Um.... Mom, this isn't our cat." Oops. Maddie was very thin and I felt bad for her but I knew that four cats was a bit excessive. I put Maddie back outside on the porch and Mom and I went out to lunch. >

When we returned home, Maddie was still on our porch. I brought her in, gave her some food and water, and called Mike. He was with his parents eating at Red Lobster. At the time, I thought Maddie was a boy and wanted to name her Jefferson. Mike wasn't thrilled that I had managed to acquire another cat (and I'm sure his parents were mortified) but he agreed that we could keep her.

Thank goodness. :) What would Bo do without her?

More cat stories tomorrow -- tales of our first cats.

My Presidents: Part Three: Wilson

Wilson Woodrow Weitl was the third kitten we invited into our home. The year that we moved into our house was also my first year teaching at the high school. One day in October, I went to the faculty restroom and heard a cat meowing. I could have sworn there was a cat in the bathroom with me. Finally, I figured out that the cat was outside the window. I opened the window and in one of the six foot holes that line the school (to provide windows to the basement) was this adorable little kitten.

Being the freak that I am, I ran to the office and told the principal (he just happened to be standing there, otherwise I would have told the secretaries). They radioed two of the custodians who helped me to capture the kitten in a box. We finally managed to capture him and I took him up to my classroom. I tried to feed him some of my lunch, but he was scared out of his mind and not very interested in my sugar-free/fat-free Jell-o pudding snack.

It's important to note, that Wilson was a feral cat. I didn't realize this at the time, I thought he was just scared, but once I brought him home his wild side was apparent.

My classes for the rest of the day accomplished very little once they realized their was an adorable little kitten mewing in a box behind my desk.

I brought Wilson home that evening and somehow managed to convince Mike we should keep him. Unfortunately, we were going out of town (to Starved Rock to taste wedding food) for the weekend and we were very worried about leaving Wilson with the other cats. He hid under the bookcases, under the dishwasher, and in the most remote locations possible. Many days we had trouble finding him.

We did end up going away for the weekend and all three cats managed to survive the weekend without us. Wilson however, required a great deal of time, love, and patience to warm up to us. Mike managed to win Wilson's heart and Wilson still trusts Mike more than anyone else -- although I think I've grown on him as well. :)

Wilson is still very much a scaredy cat and many days is afraid of his own shadow. He hates when we have other people in the house, but has learned to tolerate when the in-laws visit. He hides in our room (typically in the closet) whenever anyone strange visits and does not react well to change. He is the one cat we don't have to worry about trying to escape outside. He's too afraid to even try it. He is by far the cat I am most concerned about with the move (the cats should be at the new house by now... update on that next week).

Mike and Wilson have a special bond and for several years (when the cats were still allowed to sleep with us every night) Wilson slept between Mike's legs. He'll always let Mike pet him as well. I just love the picture above of Mike trying to give Wilson a sip of beer. Mostly because it reminds me so much of his picture of Mike and his dad with a beer from when Mike was just a little guy.

Coming tomorrow: Part Four: Madison

My Presidents: Part Deux: Lincoln

Lincoln's story is much more traditional. After we had Reagan for about a week, we decided that she needed a companion. We visited the farm of one of my friend's in-laws and we were introduced to Lincoln.

I'll be honest - I wasn't too keen on bringing him home. He was a lot bigger than Reagan at the time and he has long hair. As much as I love cats, I hate cat hair, and the thought of a long haired cat taking up residence in my home wasn't something I was thrilled about. Mike overruled and we brought Lincoln home that Saturday afternoon to meet his sister.

It wasn't long before Lincoln stole my heart and we've been cuddling (and fighting the cat fur) ever since. Lincoln and Reagan quickly became pals and I felt more comfortable being at work all day knowing that they had each other at home.

Lincoln has a very loving personality and always wants to be held and petted. He is very cuddly and is typically dubbed the most beautiful of the our brood by visitors.

Growing up on a farm, Lincoln will eat anything. And I do mean anything. He loves veggies. Especially corn on the cob. We can not leave raw corn ears on the counter - Lincoln will eat them. I think he must have visited a few corn fields in his early days.

I thought that Lincoln would be the best cat with Bo, but I've actually been surprised to find that Maddie has more of a maternal instinct and sticks close to Bo whenever possible. Lincoln tolerates Bo, as all of the cats do, but Maddie is definitely Bo's sidekick.

What is this strange being you have brought into my home?? (Bo was only 3 days old in this picture.)

When Wilson came to live with us a short while later, Lincoln and Wilson became fast friends. They can still be found snuggling together in the window or in a spot of sunshine on the floor.

Coming tomorrow - Part Three: Wilson

My Presidents: Part One: Reagan

Reagan was found outside of the local photography studio that I worked at during high school and college. I stopped by the studio for a visit and ended up calling Mike and asking him to stop by on his way into town from work. I named her immediately and new that Reagan Nancy Weitl would be a welcome addition to our little family.

The next day we planned to travel to Mike's parents and take our new kitten with us. I'll never forget that drive. She sat on our shoulders the entire drive. She was so tiny. Barely a handful and totally adorable. We were quite smitten, even when she would use her claws to climb our pant legs, we didn't mind. That's probably part of the reason why she quickly became extremely spoiled and still seems to be Daddy's favorite.

Reagan had some issues when she was fixed and the vet thought she might have some retardation as a result. I can still remember how upset Mike and I both were when the vet called to say she was having problems. I wished we had never decided to have her fixed at all.

After her surgery she was so out of it that the vet said she could not climb stairs or jump up on anything. We were worried that she wouldn't be able to get in and out of bed with us so the first night we were home we slept on the floor in front of the fireplace with her. We didn't want her to be alone. Luckily, we didn't have to break our backs on the floor for long. Our little kitty refused to follow the doctors orders and was bounding around the house, with a bit of a drunken stagger, by the following day. Amazingly, Reagan appears to have fully recovered. Now if we could just convince her to blink...

Reagan is a "Daddy's girl" all the way through. Our presidents definitely hold the role of being the first babies in our house! She loves to cuddle with Mike and any time he sits down she wants to be on his lap. She also sleeps with us, when Mike will allow it. Most of the time in our bed -- half of the time in my arms. She also enjoys sleeping on top of the armour so that she can look down on us from above.

Reagan is the problem child of our kitty children. If Mike allows the cats to sleep with us, he typically throws them out of the room at some point during the night. Reagan is the one who starts meowing around 4-4:30 am. She thinks it is time to awake up and that we should feed her. We've taken to using a very loud fan to try to drown out her bleating.

This is by far the quirkiest cat we own. She's finicky, bitchy, and stubborn. But we love her anyway!

Part Deux: Lincoln - coming tomorrow.

My Presidents: Prologue

While my mother claims that we are descendants of George Washington, the presidents I'm referring to have never held public office. My presidents is another term that I use to describe my cats who are all named after US Presidents - Reagan, Lincoln, Wilson, and Madison.

Mike, Bo, and I share our home with four cats. We never intended to have four but yet, here we are, with four cats, all of them are nearly 6 years old.

Nearly six years ago, Mike and I moved into our first home. We knew that we eventually wanted a cat, but we didn't make any moves to acquire one. And somehow, over the course of just a few months, we had four. I'm still not really sure how that happened... Kinda like I'm not sure how we're going to end up with three children...

These cats quickly became our children. I took all four cats for professional wedding portraits a few days before my wedding. Seriously, who does that? Well, I did.


(Photo courtesy of Spieth Photography)

There is a lot going on in our lives right now, but I don't want to leave the blog empty. These posts have been in my draft folder forever, so what better time to use them, than now, when I don't have time to figure out anything else to say. Hopefully it will be amusing reading and keep you entertained while I deal with everything that is going on in our lives. I've pre-scheduled posts and dubbed the week, "President's week" here at Chez Sticky Feet. Each day this week will be devoted to one of our cats with pictures and commentary.

A little out of the ordinary? Definitely.
Amusing? Probably.
Worth reading? You be the judge.

I'll do my best to return to my usual ramblings, update you on the move and the twins, and give you Bo pictures to ogle next week!

Grand Bear Lodge

On Thursday night, we stayed at Grand Bear Lodge. This resort is approximately 5 minutes from our new house and it seemed like a good opportunity to check it out. What a great place and a wonderful destination for anyone who wants to visit us and have a great time with their family. (Of course, everyone is welcome to stay at our house for free -- we can sleep 6 comfortably. If our guest capcity is over 6, you'll have to sleep on the floor. But the floor is comfy. :))

These pictures are from the indoor waterpark which Bo enjoyed. Bigger kids would have a lot of fun! There is also an indoor amusement park, mini-golf, and tons of kid friendly activities.

On Friday, we closed on the house and we spent our first night there last night. Everything is going well and thus far, we are happy with our purchase. I'm currently sitting in the parking lot of the local Days Inn for Internet access as ours is not hooked up yet.

I have posts scheduled for the next week as I know that things will be totally crazy and when I do have computer time I will need to be working. However, I'll still be tweeting so you can follow me there if you're interested in how the move and everything else is progressing.

Ask Jamie: Selling A House

Rachel asks:

"I would love tips on preparing my house to sell. Since you just went through a ton of houses, I can imagine you have some ideas on what people should have done to prepare their house, or what they did well."

First, I have to admit that this question totally cracked me up. No offense to Rachel, but we've had our house on the market for a year and a half! I am obviously not the person to ask about selling a house... I am hopeful that once our house is empty it will show much better. We just have way too many things as well as very large, bulky furniture. I think that all of these big items combined with too much stuff makes the house show poorly. We also did not have a living room on the main floor of the house (nor were we truly motivated) until recently and I think that detracted from many of our showings during the first year as well.

***Shameless plug -- anyone local want to buy a house?? Instant equity! Priced to sell!****

That said, we did go through many houses during our house hunt and here are the things that I noticed that you may find helpful.

1. No clutter - the houses I really liked did not have clutter. There were not knick-knacks or kitchen appliances out. There were not stacks of mail or piles of baby toys.

2. Nice kitchen - probably the number one thing I looked at in each house was if I could live with the kitchen. This is a big priority for me and would be the room of the house that I would concentrate on making look the best during our house showings. I know this isn't a priority for everyone -- but it definitely was for me.

3. Updated/Modern - One of the houses we looked at was nice, met the size requirements, etc. but it was obvious that older people lived there. There was wood paneling, all of the bathrooms were mauve (with mauve bathtub, sink, and commode), and just generally had that "dated" look and feel about it. As much as you can -- without gutting the house -- stick with neutral colors and basic decor. Mauve is a major turnoff.

4. Care about your home - Despite all of our clutter, I have always tried my best to make my house look as good as possible when I know someone is coming by for a showing. When we were looking at houses it was usually pretty obvious who put in the time to make the house "show ready" and who just left for work that morning. At the same time, if you're looking at houses try to be considerate if you know the realtor just called to ask about the house five minutes ago. I obviously can't do a full deep clean in the five minutes it took for you to arrive. :)

5. Treats - When we bought our first home, there were cookies on the bar for us with a nice note to "have a cookie, on the house." They were really good cookies. :) One of the houses we looked at this time also had treats and this was a great break for Bo and I to enjoy a quick snack during the grueling search process. While we didn't buy that house, it is a house that I remember and that sticks out in my mind more because of the treat-factor.

By the time many of you are reading this, Mike and I should be the owners of two homes. How freaky is that??

What other tips do you have for selling a home? What have you done in the past to prepare your house for sale? Give me some tips! I need them!!

Friday's Feature at Sticky Feet Part Deux is Ask Jamie. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any question you would like for me to answer. Anything is fair game!

Wordless Wednesday: 28 Weeks - Where Are Your Sisters?

Honestly, I don't think Bo has any idea what is going to hit him with the arrival of the girls in the very near future. He doesn't truly understand the concept that there are babies in Mommy's belly -- but he is quite intrigued with my belly button that is popping out like a turkey timer. Here is my 28 week, pregnant with twins belly, in all of its glory. Plus, Bo, thrown in for cuteness. :)

For more Wordless Wednesday visit Momdot or 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tasty Tuesday: Coconut Cream Pie

Last Wednesday, I decided I was in the mood for coconut pie. I noticed a recipe in one of Mom's Taste of Home magazines and decided to take to the challenge and make my own. (My recipe is slightly modified). It was quite good - even though I'm not a fan of meringue. Give me some Cool Whip any day. :) Mom, Bo, and I managed to polish off over half a pie as our afternoon snack that day.

***For those of you who are local -- I loved the coconut pie and chocolate pie that they use to make at Skipper's Galley. If you have either of those recipes, please share!!***

Bo had never had coconut before and even though he liked it - he did have a few red blotches after eating. Luckily, they went away fairly quickly and there didn't seem to be any long-term consequences.

Coconut Cream Pie

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups milk

3 egg yolks, beaten

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I prefer coconut extract)

1 pie crust, baked

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp vanilla

6 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup flaked coconut

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add milk, stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat Stir a small amount of the hot filling into the egg yolks, then return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and vanilla. Pour into prepared shell.

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over hot filling, sealing edges to crust. Sprinkle with coconut.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on on a wire rack and then refrigerate.

No Words

For once in my life, I'm at a loss for words. I have plenty of topics I could write about, but I don't feel like writing about any of them.

For example, I could tell you that my mom had her second eye surgery this morning. Or that Mike will only be spending one more night in our current house. Or about why I hate answering the phone. Or I could tell you about the crazy pattern of events we've managed to work out to make it through the next two weeks. Or complain that Mike will be in mandatory training 5 hours away while the movers are at our house next week. Or whine about being pregnant with twins and how ready I am to have my body back. Or discuss my worries about how Bo will react to the girls. Or tell you about how much fun Bo is having with his new Aquadoodle. Or about how much Bo seems to be learning every day at this stage and how impressed I am with the leaps he is making with comprehension and language. Or I could tell you about something crazy I did recently that may or may not turn out to be a smart move for me. But seriously, I just don't have the motivation today. (If any of these topics seem particularly entertaining - leave me a comment and I'll do my best to find some motivation to actually write about it sometime soon.)

Suffice it to say, there is a lot going on. And I'll be very glad when the next two weeks are over and I can at least feel functional in my new home.

Instead, I'll shamelessly plug my review site Sticky Feet Reviews. Head over there for a chance to win a Peace Love Mom tee and a copy of the book The Mominificent Life.

5 lbs of baby in my belly!

I had a growth ultrasound today and Clara weighed in at 2 lbs. 5 ounces and Anna weighed in at 2 lbs. 6 oz. Wowza!!

Overall, the appointment was quite long but went very well. My cervix is dilated to a 1 and is measuring shorter than it was previously but the fetal fibronectin test came back negative meaning that there is a less than 5% chance that I will deliver within the next two weeks. Dr. F consulted with the peri and they decided to keep me on my current restrictions of resting as much as possible (with the knowledge that I have a toddler and we are moving), pushing fluids, and taking the procardia every 6 hours.

The appointment was long because I had the fetal fibronectin test, a cervix check, a growth ultrasound (for twins), the 1 hour glucose tolerance test, bloodwork, and a shot of RhoGam. Not to mention all of the normal appointment ongoings such as weight (currently at a 26 lb. gain), blood pressure, etc. Dr. F decided not to put me on the monitor today. We both feel pretty certain that I am contracting but since it is not progressing and the fetal fibronectin came back negative I think she felt reassured that I'll be okay until my appointment next week.

Both of the babies look great and are growing right on target. Woohoo! They are both definitely girls. Clara (Twin A) is on the right side and presenting. Anna (Twin B) is on the left side. Both babies are head down. Let's hope they stay that way!!

On the way home, I received a phone call from the nurse. My iron is low so I will be starting iron supplements and I failed my glucose test. I'll be taking the three hour test at my next appointment. :(

A big thanks to my mom for watching Bo (she can lift him again until Monday when she has her other eye done), my MIL for coming down to stay for a few days and driving me to the appointment, and Mike Spieth for coming by and mowing our yard this evening. Everyone's help to keep us going through all of this is greatly appreciated!!

Tia Sharon

I know some of you probably won't believe this -- but there are actually large chunks of my life that I haven't shared online or on the blog. One of the many aspects of my life that I haven't talked about a great deal is my "ex-step-family". Suffice it to say, this isn't the post to discuss how they became that to me, but I will say that they were an important part of my life for many reasons.

Arguably the most influential person in my "ex-step-family" was my Tia Sharon. She passed away on Monday after a battle with lung cancer.

My mom was married to Sharon's brother for a little over three years (from the time I was 9 until I was about 12 1/2). During that time period, we lived in Texas for a little over a year and for a short period of time lived with Sharon and during the entire time we lived no more than three blocks from her.

Sharon and I clicked. There was something about Sharon that just made sense to me. I loved her academic lifestyle and her no nonsense attitude. She was not one to sugar-coat the truth and her passions ran deep. She was always full of spunk and never afraid to say what she really thought -- even to a 10 year old. I think the picture of her above and her well-written obituary say more about her personality than I could ever put into words.

I grew up a lot during those years and I can see several of my personality quirks that are a direct result of time spent with Sharon. (I know I drove her a bit batty with my early Saturday morning wake-up calls and cookie stealing.) I have so many fond memories of her and I know that in at least a few small ways her spirit will live on through me and through my children.

This fall, we made the long drive to Oklahoma to visit with Sharon and her mom. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to capture any good pictures of Sharon with Bo -- but here she is, playing blocks on the floor with Bo in October.

Sharon was an amazing woman, daughter, teacher, and aunt. She will be deeply missed.

Wordless Wednesday: Part Deux: 18 Month Studio Portraits

Yes, I'm cheating - two Wordless Wednesdays this week! But I wanted to give you the website and password to view Bo's 18 month pictures. :) There are several cute ones and I'm going to have a very difficult time deciding what to order. Even though we are moving, he'll always be my little Tigers fan. :)

To see the rest of Bo's pictures head over to www.spiethphotography.com and click online previews. Session ID is Bo0609

Enjoy and let me know which pictures you like best! :)

Wordless Wednesday: Fair Fun

On Friday evening, Bo and I met Mandy and her sisters at the local county fair. I couldn't let this year's fair pass without enjoying a corn dog, a 4-H orange shake-up, and allowing Bo his first experience on the ever popular carnival rides. Mandy was very helpful and lifted Bo on and off the rides (thanks again!) and her sisters were great to ride with him. Bo loved the little cars and his grin made the outing worthwhile. :)

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom and Momdot.com.

Tasty Tuesday: Canadian Bacon and Parm Rotini

Canadian Bacon and Parm Rotini

Several people have written me recently saying that they miss my weekly recipe posts. The fact is, I haven't exactly been a gourmet chef lately. Most of our meals have consisted of scavenging through the pantry and freezer to try to use up food before our move. Besides the fact that I am suppose to be "resting," I also don't have much motivation to cook full meals when it is just Bo and myself eating. Bo doesn't care if I make a 5 course meal.

Yesterday evening, I was starving and suddenly struck with inspiration. I dug through the pantry and tried to put together a meal that seemed edible and actually managed to create a recipe I really enjoyed. This random hodge-podge of ingredients were just items that needed to be used and ended up tasting great together. I served this pasta with broccoli (I have four bags of frozen broccoli to use in the next two weeks -- if you have any recipes for frozen broccoli, send them my way! Apparently I thought Wal-Mart was going to quit carrying the stuff!) and fresh fruit.

Canadian Bacon and Parm Rotini

1 box Barilla Plus Rotini (lots of protein for growing twin girls!)

15-20 slices Canadian bacon, finely chopped

1 cup finely shredded, good quality, Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Boil pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, chop Canadian bacon and fry until slightly crisp. Drain pasta, toss with olive oil. Add Italian seasoning, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Stir and serve!

And Bo ran away with the spoon...

Farm Town

Sometimes, one just needs to do something that has absolutely no real purpose...

After listening to Mandy talk about Farm Town for several months, I finally started my own farm. Why? I have no idea. It isn't like I don't have about a million other things to do. I'll blame it on procrastination. Of course, I'd rather do something pointless than actually grade the papers that mean I receive a paycheck. :) Definitely one of the downsides of working from home -- there can be a lot of distractions!

There is no doubt that there is an enormous amount of the three C's in my life right now (change, chaos, and conflict) and I am the type of person who finds it difficult to escape from the constant pressure to fix and control situations that are outside of my control. Farm Town is the perfect distraction to turn my brain off completely and stop over analyzing every twinge, where we will put our furniture in the new house, and how everything will play out with my mom (along with countless other things...).

The game, overall, is totally pointless. But, sometimes, I just need something pointless. Something with no purpose. No real dollar figure attached. No true brain power. And Farm Town is the easy answer to this issue -- allowing me to turn my brain off in a way that I am typically not capable of achieving.

Add all of this to the fact that I am also suppose to be resting as much as possible, and during our lazy Saturday night in the basement, I managed to convince Mike to start his own farm. Unfortunately, he's much better at games like this than I am and quickly surpassed me in the rankings. I think we might have a battle on our hands!

Do you play Farm Town? If so, add me as a friend on Facebook and we'll hook up! If not, what is your pointless indulgence? What do you do to escape from the realities of the world? I think I am going to need some other ideas soon -- I'm not sure how long this one will actually work!

Ask Jamie: Students and the Blog

Cassandra asks this question as a follow-up to my Ask Jamie post on children's privacy. This question was also asked by a real life friend recently.

Do you ever worry about your students finding your blog?

I worried about my students finding the blog more when I worked at the local high school but even then I would not say that it was a major concern. I've always been pretty open with my students and most of my students did know that I was dealing with infertility -- my lack of children always managed to come up in class and I was vague but open about what I was going through.

Honestly, I don't think many of my students would take the time to Google me. They have more important people to stalk! :) On the old blog, I discussed a few aspects of my job that I probably should not have mentioned in a public forum, but I do not feel that I ever crossed the line with regard to my students.

This blog has numerous posts about my yearbook girls -- including pictures of them. Several of my former students do stop by and read the blog (these are the students that I now consider friends and I am friends with them on Facebook - and yes, I have strict guidelines that I will not friend students until after they have graduated - yearbook girls were the exception) and this doesn't bother me at all. I've even had a few stop by my house and ask me for advice now that they are starting their own families. If anything, I'm teaching them that teachers are real people too. Sometimes I think students have a perception that teachers do not have lives outside of the classroom and that obviously is not the case.

Now that I am teaching online, I truly do not worry in the slightest if a student finds my blog. If they want to Google me and truly care that much about what I am doing then they probably need to be spending more time writing their papers. :) I am careful about what I post regarding my current job (trust me, there are days when I'd love to blog about some of the stupidity and apathy) and if they find me, it wouldn't bother me. What I put on this blog is for public consumption. That doesn't mean it is always right or politically correct, but I put it here with the assumption that people will read it -- local people who don't want to come out of the closet and admit they are reading my blog (yes, I'm talking to you...), students (past, present, and future), family, future employers, everyone.

Maybe this is a poor way to look at this -- but I truly don't care what anyone thinks about me and that includes students. The most important people in my life do read the blog and when I truly make an ass out of myself -- they forgive me. Because they love me, despite my quirks. :) I try my best to show my true colors (good and bad) on the blog. Sometimes I contradict myself. Sometimes I make people upset. Sometimes I upset myself. Sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth. But it's me. Read it or click-away, it's ultimately your choice to be here.

Do you worry about your students/colleagues/family finding your blog? Why?

Friday's Feature at Sticky Feet Part Deux is Ask Jamie. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any question you would like for me to answer. Anything is fair game!

Wordless Wednesday: Little Mower

On Friday morning, Grandma Sherri was out mowing the yard (on the riding mower) and Bo decided he wanted to help Daddy push mow the trim. Bo pushed the mower all around the yard and up and down the street. He thought that was so much fun (and no, the mower wasn't actually on). Daddy tried to put the mower back in the barn but Bo pulled it back out by himself! He wanted to push it around some more! I think we have a little mower on our hands.

Each day, I love him a "little mower".**

**There was a Hallmark card (similar to this one) that became a standing joke in my high school friend group that had a small mower on the front and strange sayings about "little mower" on the inside. I think we bought every version of that card for years. :)

For More Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Momdot.com.