1. “Missing the launch window.” Your kid is tired, but somehow you didn’t get her down to bed at the prime “falling-asleep” time. Now you’re left with a cranky kid who is tired but can’t or won’t go to sleep. This is not to be confused with…
2. “Scrubbed launch.” You thought the kid was tired, but attempting to put her down for a nap resulted in her getting a “second-wind” of some kind.

Photo credit: jurvetson

2. Keen awareness of the location of potentially dangerous items.

5. All of a Sudden, Everybody Driving Faster than You is a Fricking Maniac.

8. Sleeping In? HAH!

1. Go fishing with my soon-to-be 3-year-old. (I can’t believe I have a 3-year-old! When did that happen?)
2. Give my wife a break and take over some of the night feeding duties with our 4-month-old.
3. Read with great interest Dan’s posts about the intersection of rap and education.
4. Not feel guilty only blogging once or twice a week.
5. Hike.
6. Convince my new boss that I’d be more effective at my job with a new MacBook Pro. (In my new district, I don’t have to feel like a closeted Mac user!)
7. Play more guitar.
8. Resist the temptation to buy an iPhone.
9. Eat better.
10. Learn Keynote and Pages now that I can use a Mac at work. (Will we ever see an iLife / iWork ’07 or will we go right to ’08?)

I’ll let you know how this all turns out. As you can see I’ve already got a jump start on #1. I can’t think of a better way to forget all the “junk” in your life than to do something fun with your kids.

While this is a lateral move, and I was by no means looking to leave my current position at Greeley West, the move comes with some excellent advantages to my professional and personal life. The most obvious personal advantage is that by moving to my “home district” and my “neighborhood” high school, I have reduced my commute from 23 miles each way to 3 miles each way. With a wife, two little ones, and a doctoral program outside of my regular work responsibilities, it’s nice to know that I could put in another hour at work every day and still have more time to spend with family and working on my studies.

Professionally, I’ll be able to work under a very experienced principal with a sterling reputation who has shown an interest in making sure that I am able to continue to develop my leadership skills with an eye on having my own school some time down the road. I will be closely involved in the IB program – something we have at West, but that I have not had as much involvement in as I’d like.

On the flip side, I’ve never actually worked in my neighborhood school so it will be interesting to potentially be bumping into students more than every-once-in-a-while when I’m shopping for groceries or out with the kids.

While it’s always sad to say good-bye to a great administrative team and an amazing faculty and staff, I’m excited about the opportunities that await me in my new school.

Photo: “The decision” by Mark Twells

My not-quite-3-year-old-son: [Looking up from the pile of his sister's diapers that he's strewn about the floor of her bedroom] Nothing.

I thought I had another few years before, "Nothing," became a response to a question where clearly the answer was, "Something."