A little Tuesday night rambling...

It’s been awhile since I have written a post, so I thought I would ramble on a bit before I go to bed. 

First, there are a few Owen-updates worthy of sharing…

He has decided in the last week or so that “no no no” is fun to say.  He walks over to the dogs’ bowls and stands there saying “no no no!” (because that is what we say when he walks over to it with the intention of grabbing a quick snack!)  He also does the same thing when he’s not wanting to eat something I am trying to give him...namely, vegetables.  He’s using it sometimes in a defiant way, too, (as he runs away from us) so it looks like we are in the midst of some valuable disciplining.  He seems to like to “argue” just a bit, so we may be in for a few hard months and years!  Oh toddlerhood!!  Need I mention that he's into EVERYTHING??  Didn't think so!   

 

 

He is starting to recognize and retrieve some of his favorite books by name.  We can ask him to go get “Brown Bear” (as in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?) and he will repeat “bown beh” and go get it.  He does the same with a Dr. Seuss ABC book and this one is “aby” (rhymes with baby).  The front cover has a large ABC on it, so he knows that one is his ABC book.  He now says ‘cheese’, ‘bath’, and occasionally, I can get him to say ‘please.’  It’s been a learning-filled few weeks…for all three of us!!       

Owen has tried peanut butter and jelly in the last few weeks and likes it very much!  Sometimes he gets a half sandwich before bed with some milk!  The other thing he’s tried (and LOVED) recently is meatloaf!  Austin and I had neither one had it since we were young children so I made one last week and it was oh-so-yummy!  I used the recipe on the Lipton Beefy Onion soup box and it’s a keeper!  We all three really enjoyed it alongside some homemade mashed potatoes and corn.  At least I think it was corn!  I don’t remember.         

Speaking of food, I have discovered “apple pears” within the last few weeks and they are absolutely amazing.  My tastebuds and my tummy love them.  I have paid 2 for $1 for them once, and $1.59 a pound at another store.  Since they are slightly larger than an average-size apple, the latter ended up being a bit pricy for 2.  I am going to keep my eye out for the 2 for $1 sale again so I can stock up!  Mmmmm.  My mouth is watering just thinking about them. 

On Friday, my mom sent me these flowers!!  Such a sweet gesture and reminder of her never-ending love for me!  (About 10 not-so-alive-anymore white daisies were trimmed out of the arrangement before I took a picture tonight.)    

 

Why the flowers?  Well, because…

...this past Saturday, I took the most difficult, stressful test in all my life!  It was extra-challenging to say the least.  The test was the TExES Mathematics Grades 8-12 Certification Test that would allow me to teach high school math in any Texas high school.  I am already certified to teach early childhood, any elementary grade level, and 6^th-8^th grade mathematics.  Passing this means that I would be able to teach high school math as well.  That is quite a range, if you ask me!!  I have had the TExES prep manual for a couple of years but kept setting it aside because the time to test just didn’t seem right.  I finally buckled down at the beginning of December and decided that the time was right.  I registered, paid, and had roughly 6 weeks to prepare.  I prepared from the prep manual and two textbooks for two solid weeks leading up to the test  and little bits here and there a few weeks before that.  The night before the test, I spent time reviewing a few last minute things I wanted to make sure I had “down” and then crawled into bed at a decent time.  I slept well.  Austin woke up with me and made me a breakfast burrito and then I had a few sips of coffee before I was out the door at 7:20a.m.  At this point, I was feeling great, confident in my math knowledge, but not overly-so, wide awake, no nerves whatsoever, etc.  I was ready.  Here comes question #1 with a 5-hour time limit.  Oh my goodness, what does that mean?  was my first thought after seeing that first question…and a thought that kept coming to the front of my mind for the remaining 5 hours!  I skipped many of the questions on my first “run-through” and had hopes of really dissecting each of them during “all this extra time I would most likely have” before time ran out.  Ha!  Looking back on the bright side, I did have time to go back and address the forty-something I skipped or wanted to take one more look at.  However, I only had 35 or 40 minutes.  I never really panicked until I was under the 2-hour mark.  There were still so many I had yet to look at since I hadn’t gotten through the entire test at this point, plus all those I knew I needed to rethink.  In summary, I made it.  I survived.  I made it and survived with a whole. EIGHTEEN. SECONDS. LEFT.  The hours and few days that followed had me wrapped in a whole bunch of grumpy.  I left the testing center knowing I had done my best, knowing I had confidently known a handful of problems, knowing I had figured out another handful and was confident with my mathematical skills, knowing that there were so many questions I had no clue about but could at least make an educated guess based on an itty-bitty amount of past knowledge I thought might help me, knowing there were some questions that were guesses, plain and simple, and knowing that there was nothing I could do now except wait for the results and start thinking about what I would want to do next school year.  In a nutshell, I felt defeated by the subject I have known and loved nearly my whole life. 

While I have come to no conclusions about next school year, I did find out my score today.  As it turns out, my best, what little I knew, what little I figured out, and all my semi-educated guesses were enough to earn a passing score!  I PASSED!!  I needed a 240 (out of 300) to earn the 80% passing standard, and my score was a 262.  I was so pleased.  more like happy.  proud.  relieved.  I had done it! 

Although I am a self-proclaimed math nerd and never shy away from a math related problem or challenge, I definitely give God the credit on this one.  I prayed during all my study time that the information would get absorbed the way it needed to.  I prayed in the days leading up to the test as I would think about what I am supposed to do and where I am supposed to be.  I prayed the night before in the shower asking God to help me recall information so that I could feel like all my time and effort in that prep manual and those textbooks would yield successful results.  I prayed the morning of the test on my way to the testing center.  I told God I had worked hard and that I knew the information.  I asked Him to guide me through the test, keep my nerves to a minimum, help me have a clear head when I needed to really think problems through, and ultimately just asked Him to help me the very best I could.  I know He helped me every step of the way, so…TO HIM BE THE GLORY!!

God is good,

Carianne

P.S.  Here are a few more pictures from the past few weeks.