ah summer. you little devil, you. how you elude us all as these winter months tick by, ever so slowly.

but today--ah, today. today was a gem of a day. i spent the entire day inside until i left school at 4:00 to make a quick trip home to prepare for my voice student at 4:30. the weather was wonderful. i went to get the mail just to feel the warmness!

then my voice student didn't show, so at 5:00, after practicing my own music for a bit, i headed back home to cook dinner. clint and i decided to take a walk in the lovely weather, and we walked all the way to the park and then back, taking the scenic route. There are a ton of homes for sale and for lease in our neighborhood, so if anyone is looking to move, come on over, the weather's great!

today made me wish for summer! the warmth made me wish i was outside lounging by the pool in the hot sun, drinking a beer or margarita and eating my fresh salsa. sigh. it's not even spring break yet. however, the Reading TAKS is Tuesday, and the Math will be here before i know it (apr. 29). once those are over, the rest of the year will fly by.

i'm so relieved and proud at how well my kids did on our LOOOOOONG TAKS practice yesterday. they did awesome! then today was my formal observation by our asst. principal, and it went well. i think the kids must have thought, in clint's words, that they "did me a solid" this morning by behaving during that, so that explains their AWFUL behavior this afternoon! i mean wow. they were just gonna do whatever they felt like doing! the spring fever is overtaking them! as my mentor teacher would say, "they're like wild comanches on the war path!" LOL. it's kind of like that song "men" by the Judds; you can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, and you definitely can't shoot 'em. ah, teaching.

come on, summer! we're waiting!!!

Boy, oh boy! Clint asked me if I would go with him to Express to exchange some of his Christmas clothes, and we sure did go on Saturday afternoon. I felt so excited to be Clint's personal shopper. Believe it or not, in all of our time together (we started dating nearly 3 years and 4 months ago!), this was the first time I ever went shopping with Clint. (He says this is only because he doesn't ever go shopping for new clothes, and that anytime he does, of course I'll have to go along.)

Anyway, it was such fun. We left with 2 pairs of jeans, a chocolate brown button-down, and a more casual long-sleeved shirt. Good times, good times.

Today I went by Dillards because I had heard about their great sales (check it out if you haven't), and I got him another casual long-sleeved shirt and a nice casual jacket (both at 70% off).

I also got some cute baby outfits for Chloe and for baby Cason Ray! I tell you what, I can't resist baby clothes. I even told the guy at the checkout that baby clothes almost make me want to have a baby, but we both decided that probably wasn't such a great reason to have a baby. Oh well, maybe next time. =)

Yesterday we had fun visiting Clint's sister and bro-in-law and Carter and Chloe. Now I wish I'd taken some pictures, but we were just enjoying hanging out and I didn't get to it. =( Those little ones are the cutest. Seriously. Carter is a little over 2 and 1/2, and he is going through that phase where he doesn't want to obey them! He is a mess, but it is so funny--it's really hard not to laugh, because he does some of the funniest things. We took him a Cars photo album with pictures of him and his mom, dad, and grandparents at our wedding, and he was naming everyone for me. He calls Clint "kint" and me "gala." It's adorable. And don't get me started on Chloe. She is too precious for words! I really hope I get to have a girl one day!

Not anytime soon, though Sadie did send me home with some of her smaller Maternity clothes for when it's my turn! Oh dear... =)

Happy Sunday night! Boo to Monday morning...

That's right, folks. Clint cut his hair. Not only did he cut his hair, but he also shaved today! Double whammy! I came home last night and sat down on the couch across from him. I sat there a good 2 or 3 minutes before I looked at him long enough to notice! Boy was I surprised! Those of you that know Clint know he doesn't love cutting his hair, and I'm lucky if he does so 4 times a year! It looks great, I must say! These pictures aren't the best, but believe me when I tell you he's looking awfully hunky with his new 'do! LOL. He's gonna kill me for that last part.

'Tis a good day in the Cockrell household. =) I think he must be trying to get in good with me. Maybe he wants something special for Valentine's Day, as in another bout of gallantry, Clint agreed to go see "He's Just Not That Into You" with me earlier. I tell you what--this man is a keeper. If only tomorrow wasn't Monday, I'd be feeling even happier right now!

I went to the doctor yesterday after I left school. Basically it was turning into an upper respiratory infection (again). I have gone through the remnants of all the kleenex boxes in the house (I always keep a lot of kleenex--allergies) plus a roll of toilet paper after the kleenex ran out. At 4:30 this morning I got up and moved onto the couch, as I couldn't stop coughing full blast and didn't want to ruin Clint's sleep! My throat is one unhappy camper.

I am sure hoping to feel better by this weekend. It's been a while since we've seen Clint's family, so we've been hoping to get together with his sister and her family--maybe this weekend. Can't wait to see their kiddos; they are so sweet!

Saturday afternoon I have some auditions to attend since I signed on to music direct a kids' musical for the theatre where I've been teaching voice lessons and workshops. We are doing Schoolhouse Rock Jr, so it should be fun. It's a very easy commitment: just 3 Saturdays in February, then a music review rehearsal in March or April. It works out well with my rehearsal schedule for the annual fundraiser with RCT, which performs the first weekend in April. This year I'm only doing one song, yay! I just don't have the time or stamina during school to make a big commitment. No more shows during the school year for this chick! It's too exhausting.

Then Saturday afternoon I move on to working the cake walk at the school carnival. This carnival they do every year is insane! They have all kinds of fun stuff, it's amazing. They make tons of money for the PTO, which ends up funding all kinds of great things at school. This year Kristen and I (another 3rd grade teacher) applied for a technology grant and are now getting interactive whiteboards in our classrooms--this is funded by the PTO! Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be at this school. We have great teachers and supportive principals and parents. It really is a good place to work, and I have made some good friends!

Hopefully I'll something more exciting to write about soon!