Oh to be young again!

I mean honestly, who can squat like this? Or, unabashedly show such surprise!
She is quite a character these days!

a walk in the park

we were prety excited to play in the park

we brought maya's bike - and went for a short ride

there was so much beautiful autumn nature and wildlife to enjoy
and we played for a bit on the playground -
Fin tried some new things - the merry-go-round and the tire swing!

it almost seems like Maya is saying, "what happened?" and Fin is saying, "JUST DRIVE!" and we played for a bit on the playground -
Fin tried some new things - the merry-go-round and the tire swing!

Thanksgiving w/Kate & Joe

We were some of the lucky few who didn't have to travel this year for Thanksgiving! We were also the lucky to have guests from Seattle...Kate and Joey made the (very long) holiday drive. Unfortunately the Henry's couldn't make it but we will get them down here yet! Moo-ha-ha-ha!

It was a wonderful visit that was stress-free holiday, filled with good food, good friends and hot wheels of course!

I think we've written about it before but Ray, the back neighbor, describes Maya as a warrior. He always tells us how amazed he is by her strength and forward nature and how much he admires her. This is coming from a combat marine...so...

Well, Maya displayed some of this warrior attitude on Thanksgiving. She was relentless and was working Joey over. There was no relaxing and watching football (although we did plenty of that as well). Maya had him building racetracks and holding cars. She even went as far as to teach him the names of a few of them! (:


Of course there was some quality bonding time with Auntie Kate. Clink!


We forgot about taking pictures of our meal or table because we were too busy wolfing it down! Suffice it to say we had a most thankful and gratitude filled Thanksgiving.

An Inappropriate Funny...

This is a story about a preschooler swearing. Close the window if you have sensitive eyes.

*****

Seriously...


^^^^^


OK...you asked for it.


#####


This morning we were rushing around the house doing the morning ritual. Maya's class was going on a field trip to a ceramics studio and asked that all the students be to school before 9am. We usually roll in about that time so we were pushing ourselves to get out of the house a few minutes earlier. I know Danny and I both mentioned that we needed to hurry so Maya wouldn't miss the bus which resonated for Maya. She was storming about the house hollering at us to "hurry" and shuffling Fin to the door. Danny was off to brush his teeth and I decided to take the kids out to the car. We barely get out of the house and Maya, realizing Danny is still in the house, lets the following sentence rip:

&$(#($%

One last chance to look away...


***&*^%$$



"Goddammit! Now I'm going to miss the bus!"

Yes. That is what she said. Just imagine the perfect inflection and sense of urgency...because Maya nailed it spot on! I quickly stopped and we had the following conversation:

Me: "Maya I didn't hear what you said but I don't think it was very friendly."
Maya: "But I didn't say stupid."
Me: "No you didn't. But I think you said God-something. I couldn't quite hear and..."
Maya: "Oh, yeah I said Goddammit."
Me: "Ah, yeah. Yeah. Well, that's not ok."
Maya: (silently smirks)
Me: "Maya...it is not ok."

She slunked off to the car quietly. Meanwhile I picked up Fin and buried my face in her belly to stop up the laughter. I know it's inappropriate but holy hell...

Chalk it up to another brilliant parenting moment from Jen and Danny!

Dancing Queen & Sleeping Beauty

While one princess sleeps...


another busts a move!

Jobs / Applications -- The List

It's that time of year...and I don't mean the holiday season. I am diligently plugging away on the dissertation and at this point, barring a major setback, I am slated for a June 2010 graduation! I have a rough draft for 4 chapters--when I say rough, I mean pretty rough. I am working on revisions and hope to give the document minus conclusion to my committee at the end of January! It's all very exciting and a bit scary. The deadlines are looming but I am meeting them head-on which feels oddly empowering.

I am applying for jobs again. The market seems to be a bit better than it was last year but I know there are still a whole lot of people applying for a limited number of jobs. Academia has been plagued with budget freezes and cuts just like every other industry. But, as my adviser reminds me, it only takes one job.

Here is the list of jobs I have already sent application materials to:
-Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove, PA)
-York College of Pennsylvania (York, PA)
-Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL)
-University of South Carolina Upstate (Spartanburg, SC)
-College of Wooster (Wooster, OH)
-Columbia College (Chicago, IL)
-Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
-North Dakota State University (Fargo, ND)
-Le Moyne College (Syracuse, NY)
-University of Missouri St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
-Pine Manor College (Chestnut Hill, MA)

These are still on the docket to be done (very soon):
-North Central College (Naperville, IL)
-University of Nevada-Reno (Reno, NV)
-Missouri State University (Springfield, MO)
-Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
-Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
-Winona State University (Winona, MN)
-West Chester University (West Chester, PA)
-East Carolina University (Greenville, NC)
-Beloit College (Beloit, WI)
-Southern Arkansas University (Magnolia, AR)
-Illinois State University (Normal, IL)
-University of Missouri (Columbia, MO)

So, if you have positive energy to spare...send it any / all on this list. I will add more as they pop up but I realized that I hadn't put out my "list" yet.

There you have it!