Reflections

This week has been a long one.  It is the next to last week of school so every day feels like forever.  I am so excited and ready for summer to be here so I can stay home with my sweet little boy and love and enjoy him for 9 whole weeks.  

But today I was reflecting on this year.  I had a 5 month hiatus because of bed rest and maternity leave and I really think the Lord gave me a break just when I needed it.  This is only my 4th year of teaching but I was worn out.  I'm so thankful for the time I had off to rest.  And now that I'm coming out of the fog of getting back in the habit of working/having a newborn at home, I remember that I do love being a teacher.  Since going back to work I've thought about how I want Cole to be loved on and cared for all day while I am gone and I realized that I am that person to  20 sweet, rowdy, little kids.  I want to strive to be a better teacher next year. 

This week I was also thinking about my fabulous assistant.  She has been with me since I started teaching 4 years ago. She helped me through my first year teaching.  She came to my wedding.  She was so excited when I found out I was pregnant.  She calls Cole her nephew :).  She laughs with me, cries with me, and helps me clean tables, serve lunch, read books, teach lessons, make copies, stuff folders, cut out things, laminate things, and a million other tasks.  I spend every week day with her.  We found out this weekend that our principals have moved her to another class next year :( and they have put a different assistant in my room.  I called her when I found out and we cried.  Monday morning when I saw her in the hallway she was crying.   I'm so ready for school to be done this year but that means that my years with Ms. Martin will be over.  This week has been bittersweet.

Mountain Trip

This past weekend we headed off to Bryson City, NC on vacation with my family.  I picked Ray up at work at 3 pm on Friday.  We hoped to make it to the Hemlock Inn for dinner by 6:30 or 7.    But a few miles later we had to get off the interstate because an 18 wheeler had turned over spilling grape fruit juice all over the interstate! We got off at Harbison and thought we could just drive through Irmo and make it up to the Peak exit.  Well we made it back to the interstate at about 5:00 pm.   With 2 stops for feedings and another traffic problem on I-40 we made it to the Inn at 10 pm!  After the initial trip was over we had a great time! (And it only took us about 4 hours to get home.)

Round 2

I know my readers are dying to be updated on the playoffs....since that is what is on our TV almost everyday.  (Either that or the show Pardon the Interruption on ESPN which just recaps all things sports and I have to say is quite entertaining.)  

Round 2 --  The Heat beat the Celtics in 5 games.  I really like the Celtics and was a little disappointed that they lost.  Also, I don't really care for Lebron James anymore. 

Then Oklahoma City finally beat the Memphis Grizzlies in the 7th game.  The Grizzlies really hung in their during the playoffs for being the last seed.  But I was rooting for the Thunder because I really like Kevin Durant. 

The big upset was that the Dallas Mavericks beat the LA Lakers (who won the championship last year) in 4 straight games.  Kobe Bryant was upset.

And finally Chicago beat Atlanta. 

Now the conference finals are on.  Chicago beat the Heat by 20 points in Game 1! and Dallas beat Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant had 40 points in this game but Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas) has a ridiculous amount of points, 48, and he was 24 for 24 free throws. 

Tonight is Game 2 - Bulls vs. Heat...    Cole likes to maneuver himself around to stare at the TV when basketball is on... and Ray says his long fingers will be good for palming a basketball when he gets older.

Anybody else tuning in tonight?  no?  just us... 

3 months

Cole turned 3 months old on Mothers Day...  He is getting so big. I can't believe it!  

• We think he weighs around 11 lbs now.  

• We moved up to size 1 diapers and 0 to 3 month clothing! 

• He's slept through the night 3 times.  (I'm ready for it to be consistent!)

• He's so smiley and cuddly. 

•  He loves taking a bath and sitting up!

Guest Post from Ray:

Julie writes all these cute little things about what is going on in our life. She does a good job playing to the interests of her audience (ie: the girls who read this), but the Parrish Post is a respectable online periodical, and any such journalistic medium would be doing a disservice to the public in not reporting the whole story. While our life does involve caring for our plants and fun pictures of our son, Cole (Or as I call him, COLE-MAN) there is a gaping hole in her reporting. So I will now take this guest post to update all of you on what takes up a vast majority of our time, energy and conversation in the Parrish household.

NBA PLAYOFFS

Round 1 of the Playoffs just finished up and Round two began on Sunday. Round 1 was crazy, guys. The big story was obviously the 8^th seeded Memphis Grizzlies taking down the 1^st seeded San Antonio Spurs. While this was an upset based on most experts’ opinion, the Grizzlies dominated the Spurs. In some of the other series, the Celtics beat the Knicks 4 games to 0 and the Hawks upset the Magic.

Round 2 matches up the Bulls and the Hawks, the Celtics and the Heat, the Lakers and the Mavericks and the Thunder and the Grizzlies. The Parrish family pulls for the following teams for the following reasons. The Oklahoma City Thunder, because Kevin Durant is our favorite player. Julie is a big fan of Kevin Durant's manners. 

The Boston Celtics, because I have always liked Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and Julie remembers pulling for the Celtics in her childhood. 

The Atlanta Hawks, because they are kind of the local team for me. 

Round 2 is going to be great, especially the Celtics versus Heat series. This series will showcase the ultimate example of team basketball (Celtics) against the philosophy of having the best athletes on the floor (Heat). The Heat won the first game with an excellent shooting performance and tough defense. Also, the Grizzlies beat the Thunder in the first game, and, I am sorry to say, it looks like the Thunder will have a lot of trouble with the Grizzlies’ star Forward, Zach Randolph. 

Flowers

I love the spring when flowers start blooming in my yard. (especially when it happens without me doing too much!) 

 The Bearded Iris

We planted this flower bed last summer and I love the beautiful pink roses.  We will soon have daylilies and lantana blooming here too

This purple hydrangea should be next to bloom in my yard.

Easter

Christ is risen indeed!

We enjoyed our first Easter as a family of 3.  Cole didn't make it through church in his Easter outfit so I didn't get any pictures. But I did learn that next year we will have to get ready for church a littler earlier and take pictures before we leave.  :)

We did take some casual Easter pictures in the afternoon.  

 Cole hung out with Aunt Laura 

and with all the girls...

and with Mimi and Kate!

But the big event for the day was the annual Easter Egg Hunt my parents do for us, their grown kids.  We team up with our spouse and hunt for eggs around the house that have money in them.  This year my parents hid 60 eggs (while we all sat outside on the porch and waited.) 30 eggs had "calories" in them as my dad said (candy) and 30 had money in them. (most 1's, some 5's, some 10's, and one 20 dollar bill).  Each girl gets the basket and the boys can only pick up one egg at a time.  They have to get it to their spouse's basket before picking up another one.  This made for a lot of Ray yelling "Julie- living room now." or "julie - kitchen, hurry!"  

During all the comotion, Cole was snoozin', Kate was coloring, and Mimi was giving hints about where the eggs were hidden!

Well, we found all the eggs eventually.  Stephen and Cinelle found the most money: $64  

Ray and I got $31 total.  and Laura and Jason found the egg with the 20 dollar bill. 

Here is our loot!

Of course, we couldn't have an adult Easter egg hunt without having one for Kate... 

Next year Cole will be able to hunt eggs too!