Easter....

Easter has come and gone! I've never really been a big fan of Easter, except for the religious aspects and Cadbury cream eggs....yummy! Now as I'm older, I can't eat one a week from January on like I did as a child. Oh well!

I was on spring break last week. I went to Kansas last week to do a ton of wedding stuff. My mom and I went to try on wedding dresses. She's still making my dress, but she wanted to check out how to build in a bra and bustle my train. That was a lot of fun, and we were able to add some more detail to it. I also tried on her wedding dress. She pulled out THE dress she wore on June 6th, 1981. She made it herself and it is beautiful (for the time period). My mom was tiny when she got married, so imagine my shock when the dress was too big on me! Woo-hoo! I guess my wedding diet is working...too bad I haven't started it. Over spring break, we ended up adding Murad's cousin, Kaylea as a flowergirl. So now we have two! We also found a potential harpist for the ceremony and tomorrow we meet with a photographer. Whew! Lots of work! March 21st, 2008 marked our pre-anniversary! That means one year until the big day! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed!

Abby came to visit us last week! We had a lot of fun with her. She had never been to Dallas, and I truly think she had a great time. One of her chores was walking Sam & Maya each day. She took on the challenge and each day, she was waiting to do her chore. Sam & Maya love Abby. Even after Abby left, they would continue to look for their "big sister."

While she was here we went to the park and she made a new friend named Ben (I think there may have been a little romance there...shhh...don't tell daddy). We also went to the Dallas World Aquarium where she was able to see one of her favorite creatures, sharks! On Saturday, we went on an Easter Egg Hunt at the local recreation center. She got to decorate an Easter cookie with real buttercream frosting. Yummy! She even took a picture with the Easter Bunny, how fun? After that we almost missed the hunt. They told us that the hunt would be an hour and a half after the cookie decorating. So we got bored and went to the park. When we came back the hunt was almost over. Fortunately, the rec center lady still had a bag of eggs and dumped them in the field for Abby to find.

Now we're making plans for her to come to Dallas this summer! Woo-hoo! How fun?!

Last weekend Sampson & Maya graduated from puppy school! Yeah! We are so proud of our kids!!!

Get Your Weight Ur!!!

Girls' Weekend ---Get Your Weight ur! (inside joke...sorry you're not included)

Well on Monday I came back from a fabulous girls' weekend in Atlanta! My friend Christina flew with me to ATL to see our friend Himee for her birthday! We had a blast and it so reminded me of being back in college. Man, I miss those days. I've only been to Atlanta once and I was stuck in the airport the entire time. This time was great because I got to see all of downtown, party at Russell Simmons' club and visit the KU bar where Himee works. I highly recommend Diggers Bar & Grill in North Sandy Springs, Georgia! Yummy! Rock chalk! We also went and visited a comedy show, but it wasn't too funny. I feel like maybe I should move to ATL, especially since Christina is leaving me this May to relocated there. =( I'll miss her dearly, but I know she needs to go there. On the bright side I'll have two people to visit in Atlanta when I go next time.

Wedding Crap

Since Himee is my maid of honor and Christina is a bridesmaid, I was able to formally ask them to be in the wedding. I made little bookmarks for them (yes, I do teach English and want to promote literacy, I'm a nerd like that). The bookmarks have a picture of me and them and say "books and friends should be good, but few. / Will you stand by my side as I become Murad's bride? / Please be my bridesmaid /MOH. aw + mc / 3.21.2009 / dallas, texas" For the others, I mailed theirs off that weekend. Murad gave Abby her flower girl bookmark last weekend too. Everyone said YES! I have such awesome friends!

Last night Murad and I went for the food tasting for our wedding. Can I say yummy? I'm so excited for the food at our wedding. I think that's one of the most important things about the wedding. I hate going to weddings where the food is crappy and so does Murad. The location, food & drinks were our biggest concerns and so far we've got the first two covered. Luckily, the caterer we're using is dirt cheap. Since my parents are paying for that and other stuff, we can use our money wisely. I'm a big fan of using money wisely, and I refuse to spend a fortune on this ONE day in our marriage. Granted, it is one of the more important days, but still.

Ross and the Movies

After our tasting we went to Ross and bought some clothes. We spent less than $200 and got some shirts, he got pants and a pair of shoes, and I got three pairs of shoes. Everything we got was name brand...Perry Ellis, Steve Madden, IZOD, etc. Man, I love Ross!

Then we proceeded to the mall to watch a movie. We saw 10,000 B.C. It was a great movie. We were there rather late at night and the couple behind us brought their child! The kid couldn't have been over six years old. The movie let out at midnight. Way past any child under the age of six's bedtime! Oh well, what can you do.

School

Well this time I'm griping about my school. I have an assignment due on Sunday and a mid-term to take this weekend. I thought getting my master's online would be easier than a classroom, but i just procrastinate even more, which is why I wrote this long ass blog entry instead of studying!

In a Funk

So I'm in a funk. It's that time of the month and things just aren't good right now. My kids have been acting up like crazy lately. Today, I had some kids who were just being so mean to each other. Just downright mean! Snickering when someone would say something. Rolling their eyes at people. Calling each other ugly. I wrote probably five detentions and called three parents today. Ugghhhh. I hate that.

We also just found out that our apartment doesn't allow animals larger than 25 lbs. For right now we're fine, because the kids aren't too much over that, but they'll get so much larger. I'm just worried that we'll have to break our lease and move which means more $$ to spend. It's weird because there are dogs that are definitely over 25 lbs. like the guy with a Boxer and the girl with a Pit Bull. Come on! With the wedding coming up, I just don't know how we can afford it. Murad says not to worry because we can't control what happens. Just enjoy our time here. I just really want to stay here longer, pay off some debt, save money and buy a house. I just hate worrying about money, but I always do. I know the Lord wouldn't give us more than we could handle...right?

Maya, the duck hunter

So Miss Maya Leigh Campbell caught a duck today. Yes, a duck! Imagine that. Murad called me today to tell me that she caught the duck. The duck was pretty bad after she caught it, but I think he lived. I wish I could've seen it. Murad was so proud of his little girl! She's quite the hunter. I always knew she would be. When we go outside, she also spots the squirrels and rabbits. Her little ears perk up and they turn. Too bad her brother can't follow in her footsteps. He's oblivious to anything that goes on around him. Big dogs bark at him and he doesn't care. Little dogs cower in his presence and he doesn't care. A rabbit will hop right in front of him and he is totally unphased by it! Oh, Sam! Ironically, the student from whom we bought Sampson and Maya told me today that Buddy (their father) caught a duck as well. He got out the picture on his school phone to show me (against school policy, may I add, but oh well).

So, the dreaded TAKS test is upon us! This year the stakes are higher. Special education scores count this year. 8th grade students have to pass in order to go onto high school. Luckily, I teach seventh grade, but my students are not only tested in reading, but writing as well. The writing portion is two part. Answering questions over revising and editing and writing a composition. So, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as the 7th grade students take the Writing test on Wednesday and the 8th grade students take the reading test. My kiddos will take the reading test in late April, so be thinking of that as well.

Well, this year I've had the opportunity to serve on the crisis intervention team. It's been stressful yet rewarding. One thing that I have become passionate about is alcohol and drug prevention. It's alarming how many students are affected by alcohol and drug abuse at this young age.

On April 19th, 2008 Murad and I, along with some of my National Junior Honor Society students and Sampson & Maya, will participate in Walk Like MADD. Walk Like MADD is a walk to raise money to create more educational opportunities for students to learn about the dangers of drinking and driving. I'm really excited about the walk. I did it last year with NJHS and had a blast. Now that I'm the chair of the crisis intervention team, I think it will have more meaning as well.
Since the purpose of the walk is to raise money, I'm going to put out that plug! If you'd like to donate money to support Murad or myself please visit www.stridesforchange.org You can click on make a donation and if you look for my name, Murad's name or the team name of Apollo NJHS, you can make a donation of whatever sum you'd like. All donations are greatly, greatly appreciated! You can also count them as a tax write-off. I also encourage you to become involved with MADD in your own community and participate in a walk if there is one near you! Okay, that's my whole plug! I'm done!

Okay, good night!

Wedding Countdown

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