How am I doing??

I've decided to review my list and see how I'm doing getting all those things done.

• Took Taylor to the doctor on Wednesday. Her stomach was really swollen. She has staph again in three places. Two of them had to be drained. One was packed. She was able to take out the packing herself the next day and we do not have to return unless they get worse. Yay! She does not have strep. More antibiotics and cleaning the holes everyday.
• After the doctor Taylor went back with her mom and we went shopping. (Angie offered to pay for her prescriptions. I asked if she was sure and she said yes. However, when she saw how much only two of them were she was mad. She paid for them but saved one for us to get the next day. Welcome to parenthood.) Tristan spent his Christmas money and got some new playstation games and 2 movies. Chance got a DVD recorder so now we can record movies off the TV. Yay! And we had to buy a new vaccuum cuz ours broke the nite before.
• Thursday I planned to stay home and rest. We were tired of being on the run. Taylor was not feeling well. I lazed around. Later in the evening after I made dinner, I began to work on my syllabus. Was just getting into it when our house caught on fire. Yep. We had been burning a fire in the fireplace all evening. All of a sudden the whole house filled with smoke. I called 911 and the fireman came. We had to get out of the house. Just as we got out in the driveway, it started snowing on us. It was pretty but cold. The firemen were there until 12:30 a.m. I had to take the kids and the dog to Dave and Heather's cuz it was taking so long. They had to tear out our fireplace to get to it. I posted pictures on my myspace. It's lovely. The house stunk to high heaven. My living room is all torn up. At least I will probably get new carpet out of it. The firemen told us if they had not torn it out, our house would have burned to the ground. We have lots to be thankful for. Oh and my syllabus did not get done or even a dent in it. We sat up most of the night in shock.
• We called the insurance company on Friday morning. After our complaining about our living room not being livable (they were gonna wait until next week to do anything), they got us with claims. Took a while for claims to call, but they did. Had to wait for the adjustor to call. He can't come until Monday. We tried to fix our furniture where we could walk through and maybe sit. All the trash is still all over the floor by the fireplace. After all the waiting, it was close to 5. Taylor and I set out for some shopping to spend Christmas money. Were gone about an hour and a half before the boys called and were hungry. So we got food and came home. I think I worked on gathering pictures for the scrapbook. Used up all my photo paper. Oh and I set up my OU account for my class but couldn't figure it all out. That is going to be tricky. I need to enroll.
• Today, I made brunch and was getting ready to take Taylor to finish our shopping when we got a call that Chance's Pap was taken to the ER. He was vomiting blood. Chance was changing the oil in the truck. (Big ordeal that takes all day.) So we did not go shopping as we were waiting to hear when to come to the hospital. I spent several hours working on the scrapbook while we were waiting and I got 5 pages done. Oh, I have so many more to go but it's a start. Pap was admitted overnight. We will probably go tomorrow to see him. He told Karin that he is ready to die. I think he's losing his spunk and fight. That makes me sad. Please pray for him.
• Somewhere in there I made some small changes to my myspace page but not like I wanted. Doubt I will get to that.
• Taylor's Mami is taking her to get her haircut next week so I don't have to do that. I have not made plans for myself. That will probably happen at a later date.
• Emails will still be backed up for a while.
• Still have all my work I brought home to do and still need to make a dent in my syllabus.

Well I guess I got some of it done and some started. Not near as close to finishing anything as I had hoped. The drama really needs to stop. I am ready for some mundane, happy go lucky days. In the past three months, I have had to deal with 5 deaths, strep, staph (2x), wisdom tooth pulled, cracked tooth getting capped, a real FIRE, and now a serious illness with a grandparent. Really, I need a Leave it to Beaver episode or something. Christmas was in there and it was wonderful. I just need to keep everything in perspective. I have so many new things to look forward to and several things on my list to finish up.

Didn't mean to complain. Just had to let it out. That's what this is for I guess. Well it's almost 3 a.m. Guess I should go to bed. Tomorrow is another day to get stuff done. Nitey nite.

Ahhhh, Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love to buy presents for others and I get great joy watching them open them up. My hope each year is to get others something they've been wanting but won't buy for themselves, or something clever that goes with something we've experienced together, if that makes sense. However, when it gets down to it, I never seem to get everyone that clever or wanted gift. Either there is no time to do all the shopping or I simply have no idea what to get. So gift cards become the gift. While I enjoy getting gift cards, I don't enjoy giving them as much. It feels impersonal and not so clever or thoughtful. (Now if someone specifically tells me that's what they want, then it feels OK to give.) Even though we began shopping in July, we somehow ended up shopping this past Saturday, during the snow storm slipping on the ice covered roads. Chance had shopped all week while I was at work but I was holding out for that light bulb for a few people. It never went off. So we white knuckled a trip to the mall, Toys R Us and Walmart. It seems we never learn.

My other favorite part of Christmas is seeing family and spending time with everyone. We were particularly happy that my family decided to have the celebration a day early so we could spend more time at both places instead of having to rush from one event to another all in the same day. That was really nice. Somehow, I think we are just as worn out having 3 celebrations in a row. It sorta feels like the rushed day makes it go faster, but I think I prefer the spread out thing. We don't have to haul as much with us each trip and again, we get to spend more time with each family. Oh and I really enjoyed playing cards too. I miss our family game times. You have to watch out for Chris, he loves to skip people! All in all, I'm glad it's over now. We got home today from Chance's dad's, cleaned up all the mess (there were boxes everywhere from all the toys), and now we are all relaxing in our jammies.

After our Sanders family Christmas, Tristan came home and tried out all his stuff. He decided which clothes to wear to which Christmas event, we played his new music in his new CD player, taught him how to records his voice on cassette and then he played with his new Star Wars ship that he got from Caden. He found all his men and put them in there. Missiles were flying everywhere. He was a bit upset that his Darth Vader was a bit too big for the cockpit so I guess we will spend some of his Christmas money finding a smaller Vader. Vader HAD to fly the ship you know. When he woke up his CD player came on with Shrek soundtrak blaring out of his room. Now we will have 2 people to tell to turn it down. Oh my...didn't think of that. LOL Taylor loved her gifts. She has big plans for shopping. I promised to take her. She is really sick. I looked at her throat last nite and it has those white puss things on it. So now she could have strep or something bad like that along with her new staph infection on her stomach. I am calling the doctor first thing in the morning. I feel so sorry for her. She completely lost her voice last night. She is at her mom's until Thursday so they will have to meet us at the doctor. I can't believe how much that kid has been sick this year. I hope this is the last round. I don't know what I'm going to do if it lasts for weeks. I am not allowed to take off work in January, although my schedule is erratic and I do get some mornings to myself. We will figure it out I guess.

On Monday, we spent Christmas with Chance's Mom's family. That is where the kids get to open all their gifts from us. Taylor loved her Zune and it's a bit different than the Ipod. I think she's already emailed Sami for tips. Tristan got tons of stuff...he has too much. So much he can't decide what to do next. Chance's grandfather is in very ill health. They spent 8 days without electricity in the ice storm and he refused to leave the house to go stay anywhere else. He's on oxygen too. Poor Pap tried his best to stay awake and take it all in. I somehow think we all knew that it will probably be his last Christmas. Bless his heart. He is one tough cookie I tell you. Taylor and Tristan (especially Tristan for some reason) bring such joy to him. He seemed sad we could not go over there today, but we now have Chance's dad's to go to. I guess we are going to have to try another trip over there while we are off. We were talking about how things will change when his grandparents go. We will probably be hosting Christmas for that side of the family at our house. I'm not sure how that will work as they always do Christmas Eve too. I read Tara's blog about change and I completely understand. I guess that's how life works. It all comes out in the wash as they say.

Today we had a good time at Chance's dad's. For some reason we didn't end up playing games like usual. Melissa's kids (Chance's step sister) got a new horse so she took all the girls to see it. The boys played out back all afternoon. And the rest of us ate and talked. And ate. Man, Ruth sure makes sure there is plenty to eat. I got to take home the rest of grandma Betty's chocolate stuff. I am so thrilled about that. I love that stuff.

So here I am excited that the "me" part of my vacation has started. I have big plans:

• I plan to prepare my syllabus for my spring class.
• Do all the work I brought home and need to have done before my return to work on the 2nd.
• Take Taylor and myself shopping to use our gift cards.
• Take her to the doctor.
• Get my hair cut and colored.
• Take Taylor to get her hair cut (she got a gift certificate for a cut and manicure for her birthday).
• Set up my OU class and order my book. Yes that's right. I GOT ACCEPTED!!!!! Just found out on Monday.
• Update my myspace page and get some old stuff off there.
• Read all my emails that have piled up the past few weeks.
• Make a mini scrapbook for a friend who's had to move back to Texas. This one is extremely ambitious as I can't seem to work on my own family scrapbooks very much. I love making them but don't take the time. Well I have the book and papers bought and most of the pictures selected. I'm pretty sure I can do it.
• Oh and we are celebrating New Year's Eve at Dave and Heather's as usual. We will play games and the kids will play. I'm looking forward to some champagne. I only drink it once a year.

Tomorrow is our 9 year anniversary. Can you believe that???? We aren't able to do our usual date night as we will have Taylor most of the break, so we are going to dinner with Tristan. (Taylor is at her mom's until Thursday morning.) Mom has agreed to let Tristan come over and spend the night the next weekend Dad is off, so that will be when we get to celebrate and have some alone time.

Well, I am not sure what all else I needed to say. Beth got on to me for not writing in a while. I feel like I have so much on my plate being mom, working full time, teaching and now I'm adding being a student to that. I'm a glutton for punishment I guess. I hope I survive. I always do I suppose.

I need to post some pictures. Getting ready to download some. Working on the scrapbook but I still have pictures from Caden's birthday on there as well as Taylor's birthday. I just keep taking them and then not doing anything. There just aren't enough hours in the day for all I want to do.

If anything else comes to mind, I'll drop a note. Merry Christmas everyone!

What's going on.

I just cannot seem to keep up with the blogs these days. Mine just doesn't seem as exciting as all the others I read, but I will do my best to put something down.

Taylor is finally MRSA free. She got her clean bill of health the week before Thanksgiving. She had stitches for while and got them out the day before her 15th birthday. Yes, she is now 15. I can't believe it. We will be sending her to driving school in May. And then come next November look out! She'll be out there with Sami. Do cars come with protective bubbles around them? I think I need one. It would really be more for me than her. I will be pacing the floor the first time we set her free out there! Then the bright side is that is one less kid to get back and forth to school! And she might even get a job.... She is still doing well in school. That is wonderful. We are very proud about that.

Tristan seems to be making progress in school little bits at a time. That is good news but it's still slower than he should be. The teacher is still wonderful and doing what she can to work with him. He likes going to school. Santa Claus came to his school last week and he got his picture made with him. I will post it as soon as I get it scanned. Have some others to post as well but for some reason haven't forced myself to plug that camera up to the puter yet. He told Santa he wants a skateboard. That is a first for us. He's never even mentioned it. Well that's not what Santa is giving him but he shouldn't be too disappointed. We put our tree and decorations up on Thanksgiving weekend. He thinks Santa is coming every day. He can hardly wait this year. He has been checking all the presents under the tree for his name. He doesn't think anybody but him should have presents. Or at least not as many! LOL

Chance is on his down time of the season. He is working this week, but it usually drives him crazy. What does that mean for me??? A super duper clean house and all the laundry done. And an occasional lunch with my husband. What more could a girl ask for??? He and James (his partner) always exchange gifts and this year for some reason, James told him what he got him. A GPS. Usually they don't exchange so extravagently but James thought it would help him find all those appointments. You ought to see the maps we have. It was a great idea.

Me...well I've been in the land of dentist and doctor the past couple of weeks. I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled on Thanksgiving week and today I had a temporary crown put on my cracked tooth. In two weeks I get the permanent one. I hate shots so much and they had to give me 4 or 5 today. And there's nothing like having a droopy face for 4 hours after. Then I had my annual woman visit last week. Well I got a cute little pink slip that says, "Hey you are 40 and now you get to have a mammogram!" Woo..... hoo..... So on Wednesday, I get to experience what I've heard about from all my older friends and mom. I feel like I'm going to be inducted into some sort of club. Not sure if it's a good or fun one. But it's a club. Today my friend Janet tells me that it will feel like they put my boob in a vise. And just when I think it can't get any flatter, they say, "oh now just a little bit more" and they squeeze some more. I keep hearing the words painful, flat, stretched, pancake, etc. I can hardly wait. NOT! Someone may have to drive me there. I'm not sure I will be able to force myself to purposely ask for that kind of pain.

And I did it. I bit the bullet and applied to grad school at OU. It is not the program I would prefer (my boss wants me to do higher ed) but it is the one most convenient for me at this time. Who knows, maybe I will change at some point. I would really prefer to go back to SNU and do one of their programs, but I just don't want to add to my loans. I am going to make an effort to pay for OU out of my pocket. I hope that is possible. I never thought I would ever apply to OU...even though I am a fan of the Sooners. It's rather surreal. But then I can say I am an alumni (alumnus?) when I graduate some 20 years from now. Yes, I am going one class at a time to start. So, I hopefully will soon be a real card carrying Sooner. Wonder if that will help me get some tickets......oh yeah.

Today we had to take my pooky kitty Louie to the vet. He has been sick over the weekend. He had a 105.9 fever and they had to do bloodwork. His white blood cells are high. They gave him a shot for that and one for his fever. By 4:00 today, his fever was still 103 so they kept him. I am sad and miss him. He's probably scared being there without me (ok us...but I am his mommy). I hope he does OK tomorrow. I have no clue what happened or caused this. I hope they can tell me something.

Well, I am going to make a valient effort to go to bed at a decent hour tonite. I haven't even checked my class tonite. That is bad but I did work for hours on it yesterday.

Hasta luego!

Sick kids and the case of the missing $100 bill

Oh my...I am so glad this month is ending. It has been crazy and I think things are slowing down.

We have had 2 sick kids. Early in the month (maybe end of Sept) I had to take both kids to the doctor. Tristan for his normal allergy sinus stuff and Taylor for an eye infection. Well due to our hectic schedules and burning the wick at both ends, we were horrible parents and didn't give him his antibiotic properly. It was sporadic. So needless to say, he has it all over again and I had to take him back on Monday.

It ended up being a dual appointment as Taylor got some new funk. I have had her at the doctor more this year than in her whole life. She's had strep, eye infections, a pulled muscle in her leg, and I can't remember what else. Well now she's ended up with the "new" staph infections in her leg. We are still waiting to see if it is a known strain or an unknown. But let me tell you about our experience. PLEASE take note - this has been a very serious ordeal for us and could have resulted in her being in the hospital. It's not over yet, but so far so good.

So around the 21st, a Sunday, she said she felt something on her leg that hurt. She looked down and it appeared to be a pimple thing. Kinda like what you get when you shave with a dull razor. So she popped it for 2 days and then she shows it to me. It had raised up and had a black head on it. I think it's an ingrown hair follicle or something like that and tell her to go pop it and put peroxide in it. She does. The next night she shows it to me and it still has a black head but it has raised up (about pea size) and is hard. There is a ring of red around it about the size of a half dollar coin. So then we think that maybe she got bit by a bug or a spider. So we make an appointment. By this time it is Friday.

The doctor tells us it is an abcess caused by a staph infection and she has been treating tons of them for the past 3 weeks. These things are very contagious and they are not really sure how you get them when you are perfectly healthy. But more than likely by contact with some who has it or has been exposed. (Our new nurse Tara might be able to shed some light.) My thoughts are that she must have been exposed at school as that is the only place she had been in a 1 - 3 day incubation period before she noticed it. It is in the middle of her inner thigh.

To treat it, the doctor numbed her and then popped a hole in it (needle was about inch and a half long and it went all the way in) and then she squeezed as much puss out of it as she could. Taylor's leg turned purple. It was gross and I was squeezing her hand more than she did mine. Big time EWWWWWW. So she cleaned it all up and sent us home with antibiotics. Tells us to have her wear loose clothes as these things hurt very very badly. Taylor has been limping around.

Over the weekend it gets worse and on Sunday nite, she shows it to me after her shower. The red puffy area around it completely covers her thigh - from where her leg bends to her knee - and is about 6 inches wide. Just red and puffy. So she went with me and Tristan on Monday. They tell us no....shouldn't be like that.

So they numb her again and the puss is coming out while the needle is in. (Sorry to be gross.) She gets a surgical knife to reopen it and when she does, she finds a hole. The whole knife went inside her leg. At this point, I am really freaking out to see this knife go all the way in her leg. So she tells us that the infection is eating her flesh. So I immediately ask if she has flesh eating disease. She says no, but it is similar and is much slower. So now Taylor has a huge hole in her leg. She says, they have to pack it to keep it from closing up and filling with puss again.

So they fill it with medicated gauze (which hurt like hell), give her an antibiotic shot in one hip, a pain killer shot in the other, and then add another antibiotic in pill form. The lab didn't bother processing her culture over the weekend so we are still waiting on the result to see what kind of infection it is. The doctor is very mad. So, we had to take her back yesterday to unpack it and repack it. She says it's looking better (the hole) but there is another area above it to be concerned about. She now has a huge knot under the skin that is hard and painful. The skin is red/purple and puffy.

Today she had permission to shower and take the packing out herself and she chose to do that. We went back and the hole looks even better. Almost looks like she has a gunshot wound. They stuck a big q-tip on the big stick in it to see how deep it is. I speculate about 1/2 inch give or take. The whole q-tip head went in. So now we are down to one bandaide - we clean it 3 times a day with peroxide and put neosporin in it so it will heal from the inside out. Can't let the skin close before the hole is gone. The big puffy hard area above it is still there. We have to put a heating pad on it every 2 hours to try to bring it to the surface so they can see if they need to drain it. I felt it today and my bet is that we will have to go through this again. Unless they can treat it with the meds after we get results tomorrow. We have to keep feeling it to make sure it doesn't get soft. If it does, we have to take her in immediately. Also if it gets redder or bigger we need to do the same. We have to call or go in on Friday to have them look at it to see if anything needs to happen over the weekend.

She can go back to school tomorrow. I was sorta bummed cuz although we have been stressed I haven't had to go in the office these 3 days. LOL I will have another 12 hour day tomorrow as I am covering one more event. It is my last for a while. Woo Hoo!

During all this madness of trying to get the right meds in the right kids, we have been worrying about money. We've been trying to be real careful with spending for a few weeks now. The first day we paid $119.00 and the second we paid $55.00 for meds and Tristan's co-pay. They are billing the insurance to see what will be covered for the "surgical" procedures so we will get a bill in the near future. The doctor is wonderful and gave us all free samples for Tristan and hasn't charged us for the past two days of followup. So during our stressful worrying about money time, Chance gave me a $100 bill to give to the daycare lady.

Now it is time for the CASE OF THE MISSING $100 BILL. At the time he hands it to me, I am sitting on the recliner with the laptop working. So I get up and lay it on the dining room table next to my purse. Not in my purse like normal but next to it. Not sure why I did that but we were going to town speculating about Taylor at the time. It was Monday. The table had lots of Taylor's school books and homework and some other stuff on it. So the next day, I plan to take the bill to daycare after Taylor's appointment. I can't find it. It is nowhere. So I spend my day looking for this stinking $100 bill feeling like I am going to throw up. What are we going to do if it is lost? We don't have an extra $100 to pay her. I stress all day about it. I ask Taylor if she saw it and she says no.

Chance came home that afternoon and I am in Tristan's room watching him play his game. He immediately asks if I found it. I say no, I've looked everywhere and torn everything up. It has disappeared. So he starts stressing. And then for some reason, divine intervention I suppose, I ask Tristan if he has seen any money laying around. (He has recently come into $21 dollars from the tooth fairy and from 2 of his grandma's.) He says yea. We both say, "WHAT???? Where is it?" He says, "In my wallet." So he pulls it out of his pocket and inside is my $100 bill. OMG!!!!! We were elated but then freaked out that he had actually taken $100 to school. What if he had showed that to someone or taken it out and lost it? It was such relief! I can now pay the daycare lady tomorrow. Yay!

Well that has been our life this week. I asked for the 14th and15th off so I can be around while Phil and Jackie are here. I hope she will let me off. I'm looking forward to normal hours and tonite is Trick or Treat. Tristan is going to be a skeleton. Taylor is going to be a teenager. LOL I will take some pics of him and post them.

This has been another long one. The moral of my post is to PLEASE GO TO THE DOCTOR if you get something on your skin that turns hard and hurts. These things are spreading everywhere and it's better to be safe than sorry. If this had not cleared up, she would be in the hospital so that a surgeon can fix it for her. We are thankful she is healing well. I wish I had taken pictures so you guys could see.

Cya later!

Transition

Wow! I think this is the longest I've gone without posting. I hate it when I do this because my blogs are always so long anyway, this one should be like War and Peace. LOL

I have been so busy with my regular job. The recruiting aspect that was added has really kicked in this month. October is the big recruiting month. So I have been going to many college fairs and events with my recruiter partner. This has involved both day and night hours. On top of that, I have been teaching that class. I am happy to say my early 8-week class is now over. I am getting my Thursday evenings back. (Although my regular job has some other things lined up for me on a few Thursday's in the near future. Ugh!) I posted my grades last nite. That was kinda of scary because it was so final. I had to give 3 failing grades but 2 were because they never showed up to class and never dropped it either. The third one contacted me yesterday, AFTER the semester had ended to make up his work. I consulted my dean and she said to give him a week. So, he's been duly notified of all the work he has to do. I hope he does it. I had to laugh at his email, it actually said, "Pretty please with sugar on top. LOL" Gotta love freshman students.

So now I am in a transition to teaching this same course online. That started last night. As I am sitting here, I should be keeping up with their postings but I have already read and responded to several. I just don't have it in me. I am exhausted. The very same course is so different online due to how the material has to be presented. Once again, I am in a learning process. However, my spring course is online as well, so that one should be a breeze. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Oh and for the first time since I've worked at the college, I was sent to a big overnight conference - 3 days and 2 nites. That was last week and it was really cool. I learned alot and made some new contacts. Met some people from other colleges that I've talked to on the phone. Nice to have faces with the names. And my roommate, one of our Directors, and I really took advantage of the hospitality suite on our last nite there. We visited with our Rose State partners until 3 a.m. Yes, 3 AM. I never do that and let me tell you, I was one torn up puppy the next morning. We had 2 sessions to attend before we left to go home. She and I shared the Tums that our Associate Registrar brought. He doesn't drink but he sure was prepared! LOL

And to add some fuel to my fire, I am seriously thinking about pursuing my Masters degree beginning this spring. I have until mid November to apply. It is very scary since I am teaching now. I just worry I won't be able to keep up with it all. I feel like I'm neglecting my family as it is, but I think I need to have that paper to help me with my job. If I can come up with the tuition for one class for spring, then I will get tuition reimbursement for each semester after that. The reimbursement will cover all but $100. So if we can scrape up the money for books and tution for spring, I will owe only $100 and books for future semesters. I am only planning on 1 class at a time. I know I couldn't do more than that. My recruiter partner wants to go through the same program so we thought it would be nice to have the support for each other. She is kidless so it won't be so difficult for her. She will take 2 classes at a time. It is so scary just thinking about it. My stomach is doing flips.

I had a parent/teacher conference today for Tristan. I so wish most of the time that I didn't have to be a working Mom so I can help him with his issues. He is doing so much better and is enjoying school. But he is still doing his own thing on his papers. He's listening and understanding but he has problems putting it down. So today I met with the special ed teacher as well and she gave me some ideas to help him. We have to do that freakin evaluation, which is an ADHD eval, so they can identify the problem and get him the IEP he needs for coursework. We refuse to medicate him so they said they are going to try methods that don't involve that. I am a bit stressed over that but I know it will help him. I am just scared to death. I really don't believe he has a learning disability but more of a processing disability. It registers and he understands. He recites everything she's been teaching but he just can't write it down in the proper way. Oh and he now sings his version of the Star Spangled Banner each nite in the bathtub. You should hear it...it's absolutely priceless. I still love Mrs. Jones to death. She is going to be the teacher that made a significant difference in his life.

Taylor is doing fantastic in school. She is keeping all her grades up and I am very proud of her. I got her a math tutor and that is going well. So yea, I'm happy to say that both my kids are making outstanding progress this year. Finally!

Chance is busy with the fall flower season. We are both running ragged and working many late nites. He did have some time to start our Christmas shopping in September so that is really cool. His online store is going well. Now that he has switched it to football memorabilia, that is selling much better. The jersey's are moving. He just added hats and visors. Eventually he will expand more. We aren't making millions but it's a start. Every little bit helps. Even though we have that and my new teaching salary, somehow we still are broke all the time. They always say most people live beyond their means....yes we do much of the time. I think this new income is keeping us level! LOL

We are also trying to be as green as we can. We are both concerned about our environment and this global warming issue. We have changed all the light bulbs, bought some new energy efficient appliances, replaced our windows to energy efficient and replaced our heating/air conditioning unit to energy efficient too. Our electric bill was over $100 less each month this summer even with the pool running. That was awesome! Chance wants me to try to find recycled paper towels. We could do alot more than we currently are, but we keep trying to find one little thing at a time to help. After some time, it will add up.

Well, I'm getting tired and I need to get my clothes out of the washer and hang them up. I will try to write again sooner. Chara, I am waiting on that baby boy. I hope you are walking lots each day. Oh and isn't it spicy foods that helps induce labor???? Try that too!

Love to everyone.
B

Oh Happy Day!

I am pretty happy girl for 1:00 in the morning. I fell asleep watching a movie and now I'm awake. Glad it's the holiday weekend except I do have to go into work some on Monday. We are upgrading the student system, and I have to go in and test to make sure it works. They tell me it will be for "just a little bit" but one never knows. I hope that is true. The Arts Festival is going on on the campus so I think I may wonder over there and get those earrings I saw today....

I have 3 teenage girls in my living room. Tonite was Moore War so they are pretty quiet cuz they are tuckered out. It's a miracle. Tomorrow nite may be a different story. Tristan is fast asleep in my bed. We will have to move him soon so we can do the same.

The reason I am so happy is because Tristan had an awesome week at school. I am thrilled beyond belief. I knew I liked this new teacher. She is making a big impact in his life. I have a completely different kid. Even though he is tired at the end of the day, he has been polite and helpful. He doesn't fight going to bed at nite. He did fuss over some homework this week but we got through it. He was happy to read books. He looks forward to school and has finally started telling me about more than lunch and recess. Although, he really dug the Mazzios pizza they had the other day. I have to tell you what his behavior card for the week said. Here goes:

Monday - Outstanding!
Tuesday - Fantastic!
Wednesday - Super!
Thursday - Sharing with others and working hard! He seems to enjoy math and Junie B. Jones
Friday - He melts my heart! I enjoy having him in class. :o)
And then there is a big smiley face sticker stuck on there.

You have no idea how these comments make me feel...it literally brings tears to my eyes. I knew my boy was not as his past teacher made him seem. If you care enough to give him the nurturing, he will respond. I am not taking those tests to the doctor. I am waiting this one out to see how it plays. If he does go back like he was, then of course I will take them. But if he keeps growing like he is and responding like this...they can cram those tests where the sun don't shine. Sometimes you just gotta trust your motherly instincts. Course, next week could bring all this crashing down. He may not have a good week. But I am so hopeful and optimistic about this. I am just going to keep praying.

Tristan saw Jessica on Big Brother tonite and he asked if that was Mrs. Jones, his teacher. Mrs. Jones is not quite as squeaky as Jessica, but she is young, blonde and pretty like Jessica. Yay for Mrs. Jones. She is already teacher of the year in my book.

Tomorrow I am taking Taylor shopping for some more school clothes. Grandma Shirley gave her some money. Elizabeth will be going with us. She is spending the nite tomorrow nite too. We are planning to go to Chance's dad's for football. It's started. I have the usual mixed feelings...like to watch it just not 24/7. OU is going to kick some butt.

My class is going. The students really hate the class, so I am trying to think of better ways to present the material than what they suggest. I have a lot of work to do this weekend for both classes. I think I am going to be laboring more than I would like. I've already had one student ask to see me for personal reasons. That makes me feel good. She thinks I'm worthy enough to get her some help with her school stuff. I have one student who rolls his eyes all through class .... I'm having all these ideas of things to do to him but none that are professional. LOL This has been quite a learning experience and I have 6 more weeks to go. I do want to do it again next semester.

Well I don't have much else to say. Happy Labor Day weekend!

I can't believe I did this in my class...

OK so I sucked in my class during the first part. They could tell I was nervous. I had way too much planned and am already having to adjust their assignments. I didn't hand out the answers to the pre-test as some of my co-workers did, but I did do this. I just realized this as I got home. I blushed for Chance.

I was showing them how to use their student emails...I am requiring them to submit assignments via that email each week. So I opened mine up to show them what it looked like. And there was an email that I had sent myself today from my work email - entitled "Test". Some of them chuckled...I just thought they thought it was silly I sent a test email to myself. But when I got home and opened it up...I realized it was showing a view of the content of the email - all right there for them to see. This is what I wrote to myself:

Hello self. I am testing my adjunct email. I am truly a dork.

Yes, I am freakin embarrassed.

I'm Excited

Today I was asked to teach an online section of my course for the 2nd 8-weeks. I am so very excited I didn't even notice it was a rough Monday. Originally, I had wanted to teach this course in this format so I could do it from home but the class is intended to be an in-class class and they wanted "seasoned" teachers to teach that format to "work out the kinks". So I guess someone backed out and she asked me. Yeah! Now I can get the experience so I can hopefully teach another one next semester. Now I will have the extra pay all semester. Yeah! I can't wait. Well I can wait for my lecture class....ugh! I hope I can keep their attention and make it fun for them.

Well I am pooped. Need to get to bed. More later.

Ciao.

Vacation pictures

Lost and Found

It's been quite some time. I have been busy and getting lazy on the puter. Just taking time to read stuff. So I've downloaded all the pics but haven't made any slide shows or anything. I am supposed to be spending all my spare time planning my lessons as class starts in a little over a week, but my mind wants to shut down when I get home this time of year. My section is full so that makes me happy. I hope I keep it that way!

Well we've just been getting back in the groove since vacation. Nothing really exciting has happened. Tonight was back to school nite for Tristan. We took his supplies up there and met his new teacher. I was so happy when I left that place! She sounds like a wonderful teacher and the kind of personality that Tristan needs. She still uses tables instead of the desks. Said she wants to make sure the parents get any papers she sends home and since they are still babies, they lose things in their desks easily and she has to spend lots of time helping them clean them out. So she uses tables and they have a basket system for their supplies. That right there made me happy...we didn't get paperwork until after the fact last year. And his homework would remain in his backpack for weeks. Oh and she says she does hands on learning so they work with blocks and as groups in class. She said she won't give tons of homework and she will give us some ideas for reading. She said they are babies and we are going to work on the basics. She gave us a business card, told us she is up until midnite every nite and we can call her anytime. I told her about Tristan not liking loud noises and she wrote it down and told him that he could just come to her anytime he was bothered by noise. She would help him out. I just about hugged and kissed her right there. She is young and very pretty. Hopefully I am not getting myself all excited in anticipation of Tristan having a miraculous change about school. But he will get to have lunch, recess, PE and music which he didn't get to do last year. So I hope he will find it way more fun and his new teacher nurturing so he will mind her. I am praying for him to find his nitch and be able to participate without problems. Yay! I think I am in love with this teacher. Oh and another good thing...the lunches are all automated now and I can pay for them from my computer at home. That's a big WOOOO HOOOO! No more notes about how my kid has charged too many times and will have to go on PB&J sandwiches.

On a funnier note...Chance and I have a thing about stuff getting put up and never found again. We have way too much stuff for this house so we have to do routine "spring" cleaning to keep the clutter out. For years, I get so frustrated. Well first, I am completely happy that my husband hates clutter and takes the time to fix that problem. I am so grateful for that. But in the process, many of my things get "put up" and I never see them again or it takes months to find them. For instance, this year, I bought a brand new pair of shoes for our commencement ceremony. I was so proud of myself for buying a new pair 2 whole weeks before the event. Usually I am shopping the nite before and stressing cuz I can't find what I like. So this year I find a pair. Bring it home and place the bag on the kitchen table. The next morning, in a cleaning round, the bag is moved before I can get my hands on it and I could not find the shoes until 2 days after the event took place. So for like 2 weeks I search and search for these shoes. I find them when I was doing laundry, at the bottom of a hamper full of clothes. Still in the box and in the bag I brought home. Go figure. So it is these kinds of experiences that frustrate me so much at times. I love my husband and his cleaning skills, but man...I like to have my stuff. And needless to say, I really vent my frustrations when I am looking for my stuff.

I say all this to tell you my funny story about Chance. This past Monday evening, I went in the bathroom and did the usual washing face and brushing teeth. I had worked late shift and was very tired. I go to bed. Chance follows much later and goes to brush his teeth. He can't find his tooth brush. I say it's right there. He says for me to show him cuz he can't find it. Starts asking me what I did with it. I say nothing, why would I mess with it. He gets more and more frustrated and starts searching through everything. He says if I'm playing a trick it was funny and stop it. I say I am in bed trying to sleep why would I do something like that. I would find something better to trick him with anyway. So he ends up just as angry and frustrated as I get. I am sorta laughing cuz it's funny he's feeling my pain, but I tell him no one would do that. He starts saying that someone in the house did it, and we go thru why that is not possible.

Then he says someone broke in and stole it and is using it at a crime scene. I ask him if he is aware of any new crimes taking place and mention the police might find it funny that the killer would leave his tooth brush at the scene. I doubt there are many criminals who make sure they have good dental hygiene while on a job. He goes to bed frustrated and with dirty teeth. I tell him just go to the store in the morning and get a new one. No big deal. He tells me I would be throwing my usual fit if it were me. I say no, I would wonder and think about it alot, but it is much different than not finding the shoes. I can't just go out and buy the new shoes again. (OH and I did go back and try to buy the same pair but they only had the one pair in my giant size.) A toothbrush I can easily repurchase with no pain involved.

The next morning, he keeps on and on. Calls me at work and still mentions it's a conspiracy and someone came in with the intention of taking his brush. He's going to post a sign that says if it's returned there would be no questions asked. He had bought the new one but could not get over it. We even discussed how the window guys could've gotten it but he decided no, he had watched them the whole time. Can you say OMG?????

Tonite, I am in there doing the routine. I get under the sink to look for my soap refill to refill the soap dispenser. And guess what I find?? Right by the mouthwash where I had mentioned for him to look 4 days ago. Oh no, he would never put his brush under the sink!!!!! Well buster, there it was. So I show him and he starts saying that I put it there all along. OMG!!!! I am just giving him a big whatever dude! So he remembers that he said no questions asked and he stopped giving me a hard time. Now how's that for an experience????? Do you see why I color my hair now???? He is such a mess. I just don't even know what to say. Man, it's a good thing I love him that's all I've got to say!

Well I don't have much else to say. I have to get to bed soon. I only had about 4 hours sleep - I sat up watching Big Brother after dark on shotime last nite. And I have to get up early to go to a "Stamping Up" party in the morning. Not sure what I am going to do but they tell me I will be making a journal and will have fun. There will be some crazy chicks from work there. Not all of the usual ones on my myspace, but others. We have lots at the college.

Cya later dudes.

There's no place like home!

Wow. I didn't realize how long it's been since I last wrote. Chance's grandfather got out of the hospital a few days later. He is now on oxygen. He's doing as well as he can be with all of his problems.

The last Friday in June, Chance had a wreck in this horrible rain we've had. He was on his way to work and as he was pulling onto the highway, a guy came speeding by, hydroplaned and slid right in front of him. He of course hit the guy and they both ended up in a ditch. Chance went down to the bottom, up the back side and back down to the bottom again. He said it felt like the truck was going to roll. It didn't, thank goodness. The cop told him that he was very lucky it didn't. He said that in 99% of accidents like that one, trucks like his almost always roll. Chance was really shaken up that day. He's still a bit leary in the rain but is doing OK. The cop jumped all over the guy who was young and a serviceman. He told the guy that he could issue him a citation for driving recklessly in bad weather. The man said he understood. He said he was on his way to work and had just got back from Iraq. Since there wouldn't be any problems with insurance, Chance told the officer to let him off. He was fully insured and his insurance paid for the truck to be fixed. He wanted to do something good for someone who fights for our country.

My long awaited two-week vacation to visit Tina has come and gone. I report back to work on Monday. I do have to say, as much as I was looking forward to all our adventures, I was so ready to come home. So was everyone else. We first went to Nashville, and I must say, people in Tennesse drive crazy! OMG! I just couldn't believe it. There was tons of construction, but we found our hotel just fine. We dined at the Hard Rock that first nite and by coincidence, it was just across the way from the Titans' arena. So we killed two birds with one stone. Got some pictures and were happy to be able to leave straight away the next morning for Gatlinburg.

We found Gatlinburg very easily but had to endure Pidgeon Forge to get there. It took us 1 hour to go 12 miles. It was not fun! It was very crowded and touristy. We were happy when we pulled into Gatlinburg. It was still touristy, but was very quaint and people were able to walk down the sidewalks to get to everything. We found our cool hotel and I must say we were very pleased with it. I took pictures of that too. It was way on the mountaintop and we could look down at the city from our room. We loved it!!! We ate in the restaurant and swam every day we were there. On our day in the city, we took the kids to most of the Ripley's places: Believe it or Not, the aquarium, the haunted house, and the moving movie theatre. Tristan got to see the famous cars. And we shopped a bit too. Taylor and I got our pictures made with Johnny Depp and Keith Urban. Oh yea, that was fun.

We then ventured on to Pennsylvania. We were not as impressed with this state but we saw very little of it and our hotel was in a very industrial area. So, I can say I didn't get to see much of it to form a true opinion. We took the kids to Hershey Park and it was so fun. That was one of the best amusement parks I've ever been to. It has a water park, zoo and of course the chocolate factory as well as the amusement park part of it. Tristan got his picture made with all the characters. We got soaked on the rides. We chose not to do the water park part of it but if we ever go back we probably will. That's Tristan's favorite part. We bought tons of chocolate. It was a wonderful day and I was so glad we went. The next day we left our hotel and found Gettysburg. We stumbled upon it so we didn't exactly do the official full tour. But we followed the signs from were we joined up and went from there. It is a huge place and there are many statues. But Tina was right, it's a bunch of grass and trees. You do have to use your imagination. I took tons of pictures of neat statues and the big overlook place for the worst part of the battle. Chance was happy. This was his part of the vacation.

After Gettysburg, we went straight to Tina's house. She has a beautiful 3 story house (they get to use basements there!). Her husband John is a carpenter and let me tell you, he does beautiful work. He totally fixed up this house and made furniture and everything. She looks just the same as she always has. She took us everywhere we wanted. We hit the Smithsonians and this time I got to see the Natural History museum. It was really cool. I saw the Hope diamond. That thing is gorgeous! Took some pics of course. We went to Williamsburg. Our chocolate melted when we drove down there. Didn't realize we weren't going to the hotel first so yeah, the 3000 degree heat melted it all. I have tried to salvage it. It got cooked a few times on the trip. I am disappointed in that but oh well, it's just chocolate. We shopped while there. She knew all the good stores...they frequent Williamsburg quite often. We ended up not doing Busch Gardens. We opted instead to go to see Monticello. That was cool but my son got kicked out. He was a bit too fidgety. So Chance took him out even though I wanted to and he didn't get to see the inside. That was very interesting. Even Taylor thought it was cool although she was not fond of Williamsburg. Tristan was a bit too young to understand what it was all about. In hindsite, I wish we had done Busch Gardens, but we were so tired at that point, we were trying to make it easy. We learned that if you go visit someone, it is not good to have a whole week of vacation and driving before hand. Your hosts are happy and ready to go, and you are all tired and having a hard time keeping up.

When we got back from Williamsburg, she took us back to DC to see all the monuments. Taylor thought that part was pretty cool too. I was happy to see it all again. It was so freakin hot there...at least between 98 and 100 degrees each day. I know I sweated at least 50 pounds off, but alas, my clothes still fit. I walked so much, probably more that I have this whole year. It was good for me. I cryed the night before we left. I just didn't want to leave Tina again. I miss her so much. I wish we were closer to each other. We ended up leaving a day early. We were so tired and homesick by that point. We just couldn't pull out another day of sight seeing. We planned to stop in Nashville again, but we made such good time we kept going. In fact, we ended up going all the way home in one ride. Not sure how we did it. Got up and 5 a.m. (4 a.m. OK time) and left about 6:30. Got to our house at 2:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. eastern). We were up almost 24 hours. But we made it and came in and went right to bed in our own beds.

So we got an extra day at home bonus before work. That was nice. I have been happy to cook. We are tired of eating on the road. Doing a ton of laundry again. But I am happy to do that too. Home sweet home. Nothing like it. I am so happy I got to see Tina. I hope it is not so long again before I do again. She mentioned stopping by next summer as they will be visiting a friend in Texas. I hope they do but I'm not sure where I would put them in this house.

I finally got a chance to read everyone's blogs today. I enjoy reading them and I missed them so much. I tried to log on in the hotels but spent most of my time checking email. I didn't have links on the laptop to check it all out. Plus, we were all fighting for time on the puter. I see more laptops in our future! LOL

Well I guess that's enough for now. I am going to download my 400 + pictures. Can't believe I took that many! Oh and we got some video too. That is cool. Been a long time for us. Our old camera is broken. If I can figure out how to download, I will try to get a clip or two.

Later gators!

Hospital tomorrow

Chance's grandfather has been in the hospital since last week. His health has not been so good the past few months but he is a tough old bird and is hanging in there. He's in need of some surgery's that they say he won't make it through. They have done some things to help those problems but they are not fully fixed. This time, they think he may need surgery on his bladder. He called late tonite and wants to see the kids. So I am going to take off tomorrow to spend time at the hospital. Luckily Chance doesn't have appointments until late in the day. We had plans to visit on the weekend but we have no idea if he will have surgery this week and we want to be sure the kids see him just in case something happens. Sometimes people know subconsciously when they are leaving this world, and we want to make sure he gets his wish just in case this is his situation.

Keep him in your prayers.

Stuff

Well I am glad it's getting close to the weekend. I had quite a day - not sure whether to classify it as good or bad. I had to co-present today to our office and the advising office. I was a bit nervous because my Dean was there but it went off OK I guess. At least for my part. In hindsite, there's always that, "Oh I wish I had said this." But the good thing was I didn't prepare anything. Of course I did the powerpoint but when I speak in public, I have to have tons of notes and really think hard about what points to make. I thought on my feet for the most part and that was something new. My Dean said I did well. I hope she was telling the truth and not trying to just make me feel better.

There was some interoffice turmoil with someone and she told me someone had told her I caused it. Well that really pissed me off. I did no such thing. So I stewed for the rest of the afternoon. And then, a part-time advisor that I don't really care for insinuated to my coworker that I screw things up. Um excuse me, I am the senior person and spend my day directing others in decision making. Hell my own boss asks me how things work. The advisor is one of those people who spends her day trying to find errors in other's work. I am not really sure why this was pick on Brandee day or Brandee does bad crap day, but I wasn't really amused. I am very easy going and am not really involved in riffs around there but guess today was my lucky day. Wee Hoo!

On a good note, I finally reserved our mini van for our trip. According to Mom's countdown there are 22 days to my vacation. We pick the van up on my birthday. And my good friend who works at Enterprise gave us a fabulous deal. She is wonderful. She knocked $100 off that is normally charged on the company discount. I so love Ivy! She makes me smile! Somehow reserving the car makes it feel more real.

One of my very good friends broke her ankle in two places Sunday nite. She had to have surgery on Tuesday. She now has a plate and 4 screws in her ankle and she is in a lot of pain. She is supposed to be in the hospital but since her "loving" husband decided he had to go back to work (they were on vacation last week) and she had no one to watch her kids, she opted out. Now she is at home, crying from the pain and puking from the medicine with a 12 year old and a 9 year old running around. I feel so sorry for her. She is one of our fantastic four I post on my myspace page. So me, and the other 2 of the 4, went to see her tonite. We took the family dinner and desert and tried to see if we could help out in any way. Being the person that she is, of course she could think of nothing. He didn't really seem very concerned about her. You just have to know him. We were not happy about it.

Anyway, when we left, I really thought how thankful I am to have a wonderful husband like Chance. Of course he makes me crazy at times, but he is so wonderful and loving. First he would've told work to bite his butt and he would've let me stay in the hospital for however long I was supposed to stay. He would help me bathe and wash my hair. (Heck he did that when I cut my hand open with the knife that time. He even put my hair in a pony tail every day so I could go to work and look half way decent.) And if he did have to desert me at times for work, I also have a wonderful family who would have come to help out. Unfortunately, my friend does not have much support - really only her dad. He has been coming over to help her out but it is not fun to ask your dad to help you bathe when you are a grown woman. I am really hurting for her but at the same time am thankful for my blessings. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and a large family who also do and would help out. I love each and every one of you.

Guess I don't have much else to say right now. I think I'm gonna turn in early as I never seem to do that. Adios dudes!

Time is flying

I can't believe it is already June. School is out and the year is almost half over. Time sure does fly. Why is that?? When you are a kid in school, summer is the longest time. Feels like half a year. And the school year itself feels like an eternity. Once you graduate the years get shorter and shorter. It's amazing how that works. I wish I could slow it down a bit just so I can take it all in. I don't wanna miss a thing. (Do you hear Steven Tyler??) I have this upcoming birthday...according to mom's myspace, there are only 31 days left. (Woo hoo cuz that is the start of my vacation!) But man, I can't believe there's gonna be a 4 in front now. I will probably have to move up a box on surveys...how I hate that! I won't be 30 something anymore. Wow...it went so fast! And kids. They grow so fast too! How does that happen??? I look at Taylor and find it hard to believe she was smaller than Tristan is when I got her. Now she's very womanly and turning 15 in November. Tristan is a little man, growing each and every day. Surprises me with something more grown up each day. One day they are a baby and the next, they have boobs. Tristan keeps asking when he will have a beard like daddy. I tell him mommy can't even think about that but he will have one someday. I dunno...I guess that's why I like photography. I can take pictures every day and when I look back I have a story. And it makes it so easy to remember the little things.

Yesterday when I got home I found a new patio table, chairs and umbrella on my patio. It is really nice but I'm not sure we really had the money for it. But we have it now. Too bad we didn't have it for Tristan's party. We have wanted one since we've moved into this house. So I guess it's about time. It's been almost 9 years. Can you believe that??? My 9 year wedding anniversary is in December. We will have been together for a decade overall in December.

Side note...George Clooney is on Jay Leno right now. Can you say hot???

Oh and today, I showed off my new cousin Sneezey Louisey to my friends at work. How cute is she??? Red hair! I just couldn't believe that new pic they posted. So now I think Laura and John need to work on some video clips for us.

We have a lot to do for our vacation still. Need to rent the rent-a-car. Guess we are going to get a van. Got our new portable DVD player in the mail today (free gift for signing up with the satellite TV). So now both kids will have one. Taylor will have the lap top and Tristan will have his PSP. Isn't technology great?? I have to get my hair cut and colored. Wish I could throw in a quick lyposuction job but guess that is out of the question. j/k Taylor got her hair colored today - it looks really nice. Got rid of that black finally. The boys need to spiff up too. Don't wanna scare Tina. Chance's new plan is to make a short detour to Gettysburg on the way. I've got my PA native friend checking on how feasible that is. And of course, I'll visit with Tina about it too. I still can't believe I will have 2 whole weeks off and get to see her. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I'm gonna be worse than the kids. Are we there yet???

We saw Stevie Nicks last week. AWESOME concert. She sounds so good live. It was an old geezer show...Chance and Taylor couldn't believe people sat down later in the show. But I had to remind them their stamina isn't as good as it used to be. Stevie was great whether you were sitting or standing. Taylor enjoyed it too.

Guess that's all that's rumbling around in my head right now. It's getting late and I need to rest. I work the late shift tomorrow so I can sleep in an extra 45 minutes. Woo hoo.

Catch ya later.

Training

Today was my training for teaching. I got tons of stuff...textbooks, teacher manuals, tons of reference materials, coffee cup and a cool bag to put it all in. I am so psyched about this course. I have been dying to delve in and read my brains out and make tons of notes. I am not sure why I'm sitting here on the computer actually. But I did begin reading some stuff. Am I going to have time to do all the research and preparation? I have until August, but it feels like it's going to take me tons of time to prepare for it since I've never taught something like this before. The online setup for the course and gradebook is supposed to take a few hours. And I have an shortened class time frame so I have to cram it all in. We are supposed to take them on tours of the labs to familiarize them with resources available to them. That could take a good chunk of classtime. I will figure it all out. I have a mentor to help me. There are so many things to share with students and I hope that I can make an impact to help them be successful and meet their educational goals.

Tristan's spring "awards" program is tomorrow. Since he has been rather rebellious I don't expect him to get anything but we did read 50 books. So he will probably get a certificate for that. I have the day off to attend, and we will do some shopping. I never got to help him spend his money on Sunday. I am thinking about taking him up to work to meet the new girls...if the weather is not too bad by the time school is out.

I am looking forward to the weekend. We are going to try to take the kids to see both Pirates and Shrek. I think I am more excited than they are. Course, I'm always excited to see my man Johnny. Be still my heart.

Chance is looking up some stuff to do in Tennessee on the first leg of our vacation. The Nashville zoo looks pretty fun and he found tons of stuff in Gatlinburg. I bet we spend a couple days there with all those Ripley things. Although I am not thrilled about the birthday countdown on my mom's myspace, it does tell me how many days till my vacation. My birthday is the first official day of my vacation. I am so jazzed...I can't believe I'm actually going to see Tina very soon.

Well guess that's all I have to chatter about right now. I'll catch ya later.

At last

Things are back to normal. That last of our big event weekends has passed for a while. Last nite was the commencement ceremony at work. Although it is a momentous occasion for our students and the end result we strive for with them, it is always the longest, most stressful day of the year for me. I left my house at 7:45 a.m. and got home at midnite. All of it was work except the last hour and a half. Yes, that is a freakin' long day. I was so tired and let's not even begin to talk about my feet. I stood for most of the day. There are no shoes comfortable enough in this world to withstand commencement day. But it is over...and with the exception of a few hiccups, it went well. I am in charge of moving the platform party, students and faculty/staff in the arena to their seats, across the stage and back to their seats, and then out of the auditorium. So if something noticeable goes wrong there...all eyes and blame are on me. But the video died during the commencement address and didn't come back on until the middle of the students, so Tim the media guy had a worse nite than I. He said he hoped he had a job on Monday, but I told him all would be well. It was the company we hired and not him. And they worked their butts off to fix the problem. They are really wonderful to work with. So that was my Friday. I am always so happy each year when this nite concludes. I don't have to think about it again until next May. Woo hoo for that.

Today, George brought over our new air conditioner. It is a 3 ton something or another, and we are very excited to have it. The problem is that the unit is bigger than the area we have to put it in. So he and Chance spent their day tearing out the old air conditioner and remodeling the box it sits on so that we can fit the whole thing in there. I am so happy today was cool. I hope I can sleep tonite without the air. The house is very pleasant...I have all the ceiling fans on and the windows have all been open. But we can't go to bed with them open so now there is no breeze but for the fans. Chance is pretty tired. George is coming back tomorrow morning at 9 and they will begin the installation. I hope to report that I am in blankets because it works so well. That means that we will not be hot when we have another family get together!!! I will keep you updated.

The only bummer to the day was that we didn't get to see Shrek. I had big plans to see it since we are going to see Pirates next weekend. Johnny Depp will definitely beat out Shrek but maybe I can talk Chance into seeing both. It is a long weekend next weekend!

Chance's cousin graduates from high school next weekend so I suspect we will be at the ceremony and at her party on Sunday. What a big day for Brianna!

I found the shoes I bought 2 weeks ago for commencement. They got put in the bottom of a hamper and I have been stressing about not finding them for quite some time. So I went out and bought 2 more pairs of shoes (one I will probably return) and now I found them. What an odd place to find them. No wonder no one knew where they were. There is no telling what will happen around this place.

Tomorrow I plan to spend some of Tristan's birthday and Easter money. He wants the Scooby Doo Zombie Island movie and I'm gonna get him some new games for his PSP. He has really enjoyed all of his new toys. I still don't have the hang of transformers but I'm working on it. And I am so happy he is not wanting to spend so much time on his play stations. Yeah!

I have my adjunct teacher training on Wednesday. I am excited about that. The President is coming to speak to us. I just love to hear him speak. He is a dynamic man. Hope I can hack teaching. Still a bit nervous about it. But I can do it!

Well, I don't really have much to say. I hope everyone is well. We are enjoying quiet time. Guess I better go to bed. Everyone else is passed out. I don't feel tired. Maybe I'll read myself to sleep. Adios tacos!

Busy weekend

Boy am I tired. We've just made it through an entire month of busy weekends. I think they are over now. I have to work our commencement next Friday nite and then I can breathe.

Last night was the Spring dance at Taylor's school. She went with her best friend, Ariane. They looked so grown up in their dresses. They are both very lovely girls. I will have some pictures but I am too tired to download them tonite. They had a blast according to Taylor so I guess it was all worthwhile!

Today was Tristan and Pat's party. It was also Ariane's birthday too. We never got the house totally cleaned like we wanted - but I guess everyone survived anyway. The yard was still a big pile of mush and Dad almost ended up flat on his back in the mud. The chair sunk in the ground and took him backwards. It did not look fun. On the bright side, it was a beautiful and hot day. The kids got to swim and it appeared that they had a good time. The house was hot with all the people in it. I wish our new air conditioner had already been installed but that happens next weekend. The dog escaped from her pen and eventually ended up in the super muddy part of the yard. So another good thing...she got a bath tonite. Now she smells good. It was great to see everyone...we are blessed with a wonderful family. It was extra nice to see Randy and Susan as I don't get to see them very much.

Tristan had a great time and I am hoping he has finally passed out. He's been running on empty for a couple of hours now. After everyone left, we've been opening present after present. We did ninja turtles, a pokemon dude, star wars figures and transformer and he and his dad had a light saber fight. Some of the spiderman things he wanted to open involved putting stuff together and outside play (the web shooter thing) so we told him he would have to wait until tomorrow. We are too pooped. (I just checked and he's in there snoring very loudly. That was one tired kid!) Oh and during the party he dressed like Captain Jack. When mom sends me that picture I will post it. He and Caden were very dapper.

We got to meet Taylor's boyfriend, Steven. He is cute and very nice. He didn't even shy away from all the strange people.

The girls are still going strong. I don't know where they get all that energy. My legs feel like they are going to fall off. I wish I had the drive Susan does. She is looking great!

Well I am rambling and not making much sense. I am so tired I can hardly see the words on the screen. I will write again later when I am coherent. Later.

Some random stuff

Today has been a busy day. Had a wedding shower at work for my friend who's getting married Saturday. Rest of the afternoon was very busy. Looking forward to Saturday and our adult night out. Tristan is spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa that nite and he is very excited about that. He wanted them to pick him up today so I was just second best. Oh well.

We are getting ready for Tristan's party. Chance had our yards done last nite. It looks very nice. They built a stone walkway to the pool to help the kids from getting muddy. We got the new skimmer and the new filter but are still waiting on the ladder. Hopefully it will get here soon. I keep praying for good weather...our yard is mushy right now. We have not bought him one present yet. That part is a bit stressful. And I still need to look for a Star Wars cake. Haven't decided what kind I'm getting for Pat yet. Not sure what the food will be yet but a decision will be made this weekend.

I am a bit stressed over school. I am behind on some projects and our display goes up on Monday. I only have one decent picture right now and he wants us to have 2. I will be busy this weekend with the wedding and all. And then we may take Tristan to see Spiderman. I'll fit it in somewhere. Life just sort of hit me the past few weeks and my class has gone to the back burner. I've never let myself get this behind in class but I guess there's a first time for everything.

I got an email today about my teaching. Evidently they assign new adjunct faculty mentors to help them out. I got the Dean...she's very nice but it's scary having the head honcho watching my every move. Public speaking is not my forte and I'm a bit nervous. However, when I know my subject area... I can do pretty good. I just want to be sure to have some sort of fun personality for them and not sure I can pull that off. Well this email today informs me that the mentor will observe me in class and then meet with me afterwards to share the observations. Oh that so freaks me out and makes me extra nervous. I am trying to have a grown up attitude about it and tell myself this is a growing experience for me. I am such a freak. I can lead my coworkers, train them, speak to them as a group to teach them, speak to groups of students in the office area but I am scared of silly freshman students in a classroom setting. As you can tell by my blogs, I tend to ramble. I get miles away from my topics sometime. Well I do have a training session on the 23rd. So hopefully that will put my mind at ease. Although I am partly scared, part of me is so very excited about this opportunity. Oh and my presentation from last week got postponed. I was told informal but now it's turned a bit more formal. Luckily it is a co-presentation but again, public speaking. We are working with the advising area to be more cohesive. So I am sharing what we do. About 80% of our staff in both offices are new. Why is it I can share the same information in front of the same group but for some reason sitting makes it easier to talk and standing in front of them makes me nervous??? I so hate that about myself!

Well not sure I have much more to say right now. Did some reading tonite and yeah.. well.. um.. ok. Guess I'll go do some more. I was up late last nite and I'm a bit tired.

Hasta luego dudes!

I need to let some stuff out...

I read my family’s blogs and enjoy doing so more than I can even say. I feel so in touch with my extended family…more than I ever have. I would like to preface what I have to say by first letting everyone know that my love for my family is so strong that I can’t even put it in words. Family is everything to me and I love each and every person in it regardless of the different lifestyles we may all lead. I would do anything for anyone because of that love.

So as I’m sure we’ve all read there is a certain feud going on with some of our loved ones. It is no ones business as far as the details…I understand that completely. I have watched and read and my heart has ached for both sides of the feud. I was there in their lives while the hurt that has caused the feud was taking place and I personally saw both sides of the coin. That is because I have been a member of this family for 40 years…not just 4 ½ years. The people in question, are very near and dear to me, and I ached then when I saw the pain then and I ache now when I see what is going on.

Both parties involved are like sisters to me even though I don’t see them as much as I used to back then. One was my big sister while growing up and man…she did give me grief. But now matter how much…I LOVE HER unconditionally. And the younger person, became like my little sister as well. I LOVE HER unconditionally too. I cared for her while I saw her hurt and at one point, I wrote her a letter. A very personal one between she and I to let her know how much I cared. How that I would be here for her no matter what. That I thought (and still do think) that she is a beautiful person with much to share with the world. And that I had a shoulder to help her with any issue that she may have. My shoulder is still here even though we have grown up and have our own families now. It is not for me to judge their feelings but I can and do want to be a part of their lives even if the details are none of my business. I have a good idea what they are…as I WAS THERE.

So with that said, I have to continue by saying that since I was there, then I can comment on some harsh words directed at my aunt Beth. My aunt Beth has always been around…here in Oklahoma…very much involved in our lives. Even though she may not have been physically present at every family occasion (as we ALL have missed some here and there due to other family demands), she has always been with us … close to us… involved in our lives…AND LOVING AND CARING FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF US. Distance between our houses does not make that love dissipate or mean that we are not involved or aware of what is going on in our family members’ lives. No, I don’t know the day to day details about everyone but the big stuff…we share. My aunt Beth is one of the most loving and caring individuals on the face of the earth. She has had some hard knocks herself, but she keeps her faith and gets through it all. She knows what estrangement feels like and she can so very much empathize with how it feels for someone else.

Here I am…another family member who LOVES both parties involved very deeply saying that I want my cousin back in my life. Am I demanding that she be in my life? No. I cannot demand anything of her. She is a grown woman. But I do NOT want my wish or my aunt Beth’s wish to be misconstrued as a demand. It is not. It is a simple wish and hope that I pray for all the time. Furthermore, I don’t think my comments are self-centered. They are simply a wish that I have for my WHOLE family. Not just myself. Our family is a strong unit … even if we live miles apart. NOTHING OR NO ONE will ever change that.

To expand on self centeredness… in my opinion, your effort to keep my cousin from this family is completely self-centered. You are definitely not considering that there are 2 sides to each coin and no matter what you have “observed” in your short time with this family… YOU HAVE NO RIGHT to question a mother’s love for her daughter…no matter what is between them. That is an unconditional love that never goes away. Someday when you are a parent, I pray that you will understand that statement.

To my precious cousin, I hope I did not offend you or make you angry enough with me to never talk to me again. I assume you are going to be angry with me but hopefully for only a short period of time. These are my only words I will say on this matter…unless you ask me directly. But I was hurt and angered by what I read tonight. WE ALL LOVE YOU…EVEN YOUR MOM. You need to work out your emotions … I completely understand that and I respect that. I know that you do not want comments from anyone else on this matter…I read your blogs and I remember you saying that. And I’m sorry to put it out here…but that’s what my blog is for. To let out my emotions. But I love you and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut this time. I hope that you will come back to us soon. I miss you more than you know.

Love to all.

Am I still here?

Ok so I'm recyling my myspace blog post and adding a bit more info. Tonite I had class. That means Chance is Mr. Mom. Usually it's a pretty low key nite for me. I come home, eat a bite and watch American Idol. Then the kids go to bed. Sometimes Tristan is already bathed, sometimes I bathe him. Usually homework is done.

Well tonite I come home and eat. Have a small trauma with Taylor and a request for at outing we are not sure we approve of. While Blake and Jordan are singing! Ugh! That is fine and then I decide to look in Tristan's backpack. Evidently, Daddy forgot. So inside I find his homework books along with a big fat red ticket. Daddy just took his word for it that he had a good day. Well that's a definite NOT. And he never checked for the homework. So by now it is a bit after 8 and we need bath and homework. So we immediately cut off his privileges and let me say he is not happy. He and daddy are having a big discussion about not telling the truth and how that upsets Daddy. He tells Chance that he is upset with the teacher cuz she just wants to give a red. So that pursued. And here I am trying to calm the mood down to read. He is threatened within an inch of his life to not give me trouble.

We sit down together and discover we have 3 stories. He picks the one he wants to read and since it is our first nite of reading them, I read them and he repeats it and we point to the words. We read each book 2 times. Well, he is not happy about doing any of it cuz he is mad. So he recites back to me under his breath. Let me tell you, I fully expected to hear, "Danny's not here Mrs. Torrence." He sounded just like that little kid. He was pissed to say the least. But he repeated it and we were done.

Next came bath. Got in without a problem and the mood is actually better. We are talking and playing and Chance is in there visiting with us. I decide to look at his tooth. He had his grown up tooth come in right behind his baby tooth. Well, the baby tooth is now hanging by a thread. So we start telling him we should get it out. We try a while in the bath tub. Then he gets out and we go the living room. We tried for 2 hours cuz it is so loose. He's screaming, crying and laughing. We are trying everything we can think of to get him to hold still. At one point we had all three of us in there holding something down and trying to get it out. This was almost as bad as the 8 hours Taylor and I spent in the bathroom trying to get lice out of her hair on the 4th of July when she was very small. We were both in tears and Mamaw Kay Kay came over and got in the bathroom with us. I feel so emotionally drained.

It ended up that Taylor left to take her shower and go to bed. Chance gave up and fell asleep on the other couch. So there I am trying my soothing mommie talk to get him to open up and let me in. He is so exhausted that I finally give up too. I am so worried he will swallow that tooth or something. I hope he is able to function tomorrow. If he doesn't it's our fault. But that tooth really should come out now. Chance said it's not any different than any other nite that he fights sleep until 11 or 12. (Last nite, we put him to bed at 8:00 and it was 11 before he gave in.) Tonite, he was out as soon as he hit the pillow. I think I will be doing the same. I don't think my heart rate is back to normal yet. I had every emotion going on at once. AAAAAA

So that was my nite of mommie hood. I had planned to play on the puter but I don't think I'll be on here as long as I thought. Tomorrow is but another day.

I meant to mention in my last entry two small notes. One is that during a shopping trip with Taylor a couple of weeks ago, she informed me that she is no longer "emo" but is now a "prep". So that means she's gonna wear color again and girly things! Yeah. That makes me happy! LOL

And about me. I did something and I can't believe I did it. I actually applied to teach the new freshman orientation class that we are now forcing students to take for credit. I have a major major fear of speaking in public. I've done it before and I have talked to small groups, but it is way out of my comfort zone. However, I know the topic I will be teaching like the back of my hand. But they gave us the opportunity and I felt I couldn't pass it up. I wanted extra money and the little resume boost. So with encouragement from my friends, I applied and now have my first section... Thursday evenings in the fall semester. It's a small start and hopefully I will get to teach more than one section in the spring. I really want to teach online but she wanted experienced teachers to work out the kinks. So I may get to do that in the future. I got brave and am trying something new. Only took me almost 40 years to grow some kahoona's. LOL Oh and the best part is they are training us and providing a pretty specific curriculum. But I plan to cover stuff that students always ask even if it is not in what they tell me I have to do. I'm excited and scared all at the same time. I train in May.

I hope everyone else's nite was much more quiet and relaxing than mine.

Later dudes.

My puter is fixed

I am so happy that my puter is finally fixed. We wiped it out and got all the bad stuff off there and now I can log in to blogger. That makes me very happy.

I'm supposed to be working on my homework but...here I am. It's late and I should be going to bed soon for work.

I am bummed that I didn't know about the family lunch this weekend. I really would have liked to have seen Phil and whoever else from his family that was here. And I'm also sad that I didn't get to see Randy and Susan as well. I had no idea about it or I would've been there. Hope you all had a great time. And next time, you guys let me know when stuff is happening!

We have been fine. Getting back into the routine after spring break. That did not go well for me. I had a hard time. What has happened? Well

Chance's birthday was last week. We had a family party on Friday nite with his Dad's family and then we will have another on Easter with his Mom's side. There was a tornado warning about the time we were supposed to leave the house - sirens and everything. So we put the cats in the cages and got ready to take them all over to their house - they have a cellar. But it ended up fizzling out and never really made. So we uncaged the cats (they were not very happy let me tell you) and left puppy in charge. You should've seen our back yard. It looked like a river. And our pond was overflowing.

We took the boys (Tristan and Dustin) to see Meet the Robinson's. VERY cute movie. We will own it for sure.

Chance's mom went back into the hospital last week after getting disoriented. She just got out today. They kept her and tested her to death trying to figure out what is wrong. She was dehydrated and had low potassium levels. They think it is related to her head injury and may have to come back on a regular basis to get her levels check and refurbished. I don't think they really know what happened but she is definitely glad to be home.

Tristan got a really bad stomach virus on Thursday and I had to stay home with him on Friday. He puked 11 times between 5 pm and midnite. I felt so sorry for him and helpless that I couldn't do anything but comfort him. He was so limp and sick. But he felt better on Friday and was upright. He didn't eat much but he definitely recovered by the time the party happened. It's amazing how resilient (is that how you spell that word?) kids are.

Taylor and Chance are doing well. I don't think much has happened in their arena. This week Taylor's boyfriend is named Stephen. They met at church. Chance is looking to sell football jerseys on his online store. Not sure if he's got that all set up yet. The landscaping business has been going very well. They are busy and flowers start in a couple of weeks. I won't see him much when that starts.

We put a downpayment on new energy efficient windows for the house. I am very excited about that. Taylor and Tristan both have cracked windows and our temperature is never properly regulated in this house. We are trying to do things to help the environment and cut our utility bills. We won't get our windows until late May or early June. But that's alright.

Uncle George is also going to replace our air conditioning units so we will finally have modern units and appropriate ones for the house. That, along with the windows, will definitely help with our bills. He is only charging us for the parts. He's waiving the labor as long as Chance helps him out. I plan to provide him food and drink for helping us out.

And, if we have any money left, we are finally getting new carpet. The carpet in this house is so bad it really shouldn't even be called carpet. It's ugly, dirty and stinks. We have already picked a carpet we liked at Lowe's - and I'm so about getting the odor repelling pad. James (partner James) referred us to a company that lays carpet for a good price. Cheaper than the big places. So, we are going to check that place out and see if they can beat Lowe's prices. I so hope we can have it replaced before Tristan's birthday party.

Oh and for those of you who usually come, I think I'm having his birthday party in late May. We have so much going on in early May (a wedding included) and also the weather is never really right for swimming. So I'm hoping if I have it later, the kids can have fun in the pool. I hope everyone can come. I'll email the details later.

Well I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone is well. Cya!

Finally!

You have no idea what I have been going through with my computer. Since I have loaded Photoshop for my class, I have been unable to load this blogger home page to log in. It is the only page on the whole world wide web I cannot open. I don't know why this is or how to fix it and it is driving me crazy. Since Chance is always on his puter, I am using the laptop to type this. I have wanted to write so many different times and spent hours trying to get that page to load. I have given up.

So now that it has been an eternity, I don't know where to start. The kids and I are officially on spring break. That is a big WOO HOO! Unfortunately, or fortunately, Chance is way busy with work so I will only see him in the evenings. He has tons of work so I am very thankful for that. His business grows each year. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, he has revamped the website - www.premierlandscapesok.com The other link at the bottom is his new business venture - Morgan Memorabilia. He created an online memorabilia store and an ebay store. I was a little freaked out at first when he purchased a ton of what I would call useless stuff that not many people would be interested in. However, each day I am proven wrong. Chance has been shipping stuff out each week. We even have a customer in Japan who writes his English in a very interesting way. He keeps us entertained and is very friendly. We have also sold some unwanted household items that I absolutely can't believe anyone would want. Proves that one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Taylor has decided that she now wants to cheer at school. I am so very excited about that. I want her to get involved with school and see that you can have fun there. And it will be an incentive to get her grades up. She has been working hard for rewards to get them up. I hope she keeps it up to the end of the year. I had her check on tryouts for next year and she missed them. So we are going to put her in tumbling at the Twisters (where she all-starred) so she can get her skills back up. Then she can try out for high school. If she gets her tuck, I'm sure she will have a really good shot. Well even if she doesn't - she can do multiple handsprings anyway. Now that she's had her hair short and dark for a while, she now wants it long and blonde. Somehow I knew that would happen. She got some blonde highlights tonite and it took it's toll on her hair. She's gonna have to wait to make another major change.

Tristan is doing OK. We had to take him for his first dentist trip (I hadn't taken him yet due to his behavior with such things) and it was an experience to say the least. He has another grown up tooth that came in behind the baby tooth. The baby tooth is not very loose. So we found a really cool dentist that has a rocket ship, Playstation and cartoons in the ceiling. Even though it was a cool place, when it came down to laying in the chair and having a stranger clean his teeth, he went bazerko. He screamed at the top of his lungs and we had to hold him down in Chance's lap. It was not pleasant. But he survived and even liked the the suction straw. I hope we don't have to have that tooth pulled. It will not be fun. He has been having trouble behaving at school again. His teacher thinks it might be due to the work getting harder. He clams up and won't test for her. We are testing him for sensory disorders - he hates loud noises and she thinks it would help him to have an IEP for first grade. So we'll see. It's causing me some major stress and worry but I won't go into all of it now. I am just hoping that some of it is maturity too. I am very proud tho - he is reading to me a little bit. In his sight word homework. He's such a little cutie when he reads to me.

We have been so busy this past month. We have hardly had a weekend to ourselves. I am really glad to not have any plans this week. I want to take Tristan to the park and work his other muscles. He has really strong thumbs from the PS2 but he needs to get some excercise. We've had extra kids all weekend but surprisingly, it wasn't stressful. Taylor's best friend, Ariane, came over Friday and we took them to the movies yesterday. Then Ashley and Dustin came last nite to spend the nite. They all played together really well. I guess that's the good part about them getting older.

Today was such a beautiful day. I just love spring. It was one of those days that I just like to sit outside and reflect. It was so beautiful and when it's like that, I see God everywhere. It's like a heightened sense or something. Everything is so gorgeous - the birds, the sky, the wind, the sun, the animals, and the newly mown lawn. I just love to sit and take it all in. I decided that we should cook out. But alas, while making dinner, I really cooked up the baked potatoes. Our new microwave has a so-called "sensor" for cooking certain items like my potatoes. I put the best of our potatoes in and went about all my other business...cooking and laundry. After about an hour, yes I said an hour, I realized my potatoes were still on. I then saw the words ERROR-CHECK YOUR FOOD flashing on my microwave. You should have seen those shriveled up potatoes. So I had to punt and made some box scalloped potatoes really quick. Then came the noodles, in which I spilled scalding hot water all over my hand. I screamed so loud Chance thought I had cut my hand off. So then I had to put my hand in ice water and Chance lanocained me. It burned and ached for hours and I could barely hold my utensils. It is better now but the skin is really tender. So my beautiful day ended with a bang you could say.

We are preparing for our vacation in July. I am so pumped. I actually got 2 weeks in a row approved. And we get to actually see Tina this year. We have been planning. We are going to visit Nashville on the way and the smoky mountains. Then Tina is going to take us Williamsburg and Baltimore and DC. We have many things planned. I am beside myself waiting. This will be a long 3 months. I hope she is as excited as me. I'm gonna needs lots of memory for pictures and lots of money for souvenirs. I would leave tomorrow if I could.

Well I am writing a novel. Since Chance will be at work, I can use his puter. This laptop is making me crazy - I like my cordless mouse. Sorry if I have many spelling errors. Not as used to the navigation on this thing. Iwill write again soon. Adios all!