2 4 1

2 4 1, get it Two for one! Clever eh?

Anyhow, as the boredem increased today I decided to go ahead and make a slide for Hannah's birthday and for Kim's baby shower so I made two separate ones the first is of Hannah. Note that the picture of her entitled texas hannah is taken with my cell phone camera and cropped etc with picnik a photo editing online software that is pretty cool. But the quality of that pic is pretty poor, the rest are cute though.

This next slide is of the only three pics I have of the baby shower, Kim's mom took lots more and maybe I can get her to send me some of those. My friend Kim and her husband Larry are expecting their first child a boy, to be named Ethan in August. The have also asked me to be the Godmother.

(note the really cute baby shower favor I made filled with hershey's kisses that say it's a boy> thanks Elise for the help)

summer boredom

Okay, I admit it. I am bored. First off let me preface this by saying that Bob has been sick with a sinus infection for a month. And so he hasn't felt like doing anything especially this last week. So suffice to say I have been doing a lot of reading, laundry, and cleaning. But my life does not revolve around cleaning, in fact I really don't like it at all, not that many people do but you know there is only so much that can be done before your house is just finally clean!

Yes, I did have the baby shower for Kim yesterday which went really well. I took three pictures before my camera ran out of batteries. That always happens, drives me crazy because then I can never find the extra batteries. And since I had 15 women over at the time I didn't want to go hunting in every nook and cranny for extra batteries so I don't have many pictures. But I will post what I have, just not now. Why, I dunno, don't feel like it, I am bored, bored, bored. And also having a little pity party about it. Humph.....

But I digress

My parents and brother and sister in law are all going to the Ozarks this afternoon and I would really like to go but can't because Justin has football camp this week. So now that they are all leaving I am also feeling a bit jealous. Plus Adam is going to Dad and Lad Cub Scout camp out this coming Saturday night with Bob and Hannah has two softball practices and 3 softball games this week. So, yes while my week will be full up with driving kids around, it will still be boring for me. AWW poor Alison! I know if my mom is reading this she is probably thinking suck it up that's why you are a mom. And I know she is right BUT how about something for myself once in awhile.

Plus on top of all that my two best friends, Kristen and Elise, are both out of town. Go figure, it's like the Perfect Storm of Boredom! (just saw the movie and read the book The Perfect Storm, that's where the reference comes from)

Oh well pity party over, we are leaving for Branson next Monday so I guess I don't have it too bad~

Computer glitches, book review and other thoughts

I am still not able to post pictures to my last post and I have come to figure out that it isn't blogger's fault but my computer. For some reason my kids will agree to download everything that pops up when they are on the internet. And due to that reason, whenever I try to upload pics or just whenever it feels like it my a screen pops up on my computer saying there has been an error and it has to re-start internet explorer. This is really frustrating when you are trying to do something creative. I may be able to put my pics into a slide or smile box and post them that way. I only had a couple of pics and didn't feel the need to create one of those but it may be the only way!

Just re-read The Firm by John Grisham. I have been re-reading some books I hadn't read in a really long time this summer and I just finished The Firm and I have to say it really is a great book. I just saw the movie on cable again a couple weeks ago and it gave me the idea to read the book. While the movie is entertaining, it does not do the book justice If you have never actually read the novel I highly recommend it!!

Having a baby shower for my friend Kim this Saturday. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours making these really cute favors for the shower which I did take a pic of but ofcourse can't post. But I will take pics of the shower and post them all in some way this weekend.

Happy Birthday Hannah

July 1st was Hannah's 12th birthday. She celebrated a couple of weeks ago with friends at Happy Joes which is a local pizzeria that we've been going to since I was a kid. It's a family favorite for birthdays. Hannah and the girls went to Whitecliff pool first then spent the afternoon at the pizza place. She had a fun time with all her friends.

On her actual birthday we had some dinner with the Geiler grandparents and tonight went to the Texas Roadhouse with the Nixon grandparents because Hannah's favorite food is steak (hmm... wonder where she gets that from)

All the grandparents and Bob and I pitched in and got her a Nintendo Wii. She either wanted that or a coach purse and since I don't even have a coach purse we opted for the Wii. (although they are both about the same price)

We've been doing a lot of swimming and I have been catching up with friends this week.

(have pics but blogger isn't letting me post them right now)

some stuff to blog about

Well I have been getting lots of comments via phone and email about the house pics I posted. I have only gotten one actual blog comment from Pam but the consensus is that everyone really likes what we've done with the basement and house in general. It was a long time coming but worth it in the end. As Pam put it, the house is very comfortable just the way we like it!

One of my favorite former students has started a blog so I am adding it to my links section. Sam was in my class for two years and I am very proud of all of his accomplishments. Check it out and commment if you care too.

On the home front, it has been a SLOW week. Hannah's ball team didn't have a game last weekend but we did have the basement stuff to keep us busy. Going to the Ozarks for a few days tomorrow just to kill some time. It's helpful when both sets of our parents own condos at the lake. Mine, his. Bob has a much needed week off so we plan to relax and enjoy our house, the lake and finish putting stuff away that should go in the basement but has actually been stored in the garage all this time.

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Big Time Twins

Did anyone see that news story about those twins born who weighed a total of 23 lbs.? I mean YIKES that's a whole lotta babies. They are so cute but they look like they could be 6 months old.

For those of you who have or are having babies recently this story really makes you think!!

Finally Finished

Yes it's true! The carpet and furniture are finally here and in and it looks FABULOUS!! Of course I still need to hang up some pics and decorate etc but for now it has all come together very nicely. We had quite a bit a of rain here today in a sudden little downpour but everything remained dry. The boys slept in their new room for the very first time last night and did well. I am posting pics to help tell the story a little better.

Update

First off, I want to thank Pam and Andrea for the comments under my Pink Eye post. And yes it has just about cleared up, still a little runny at times but no pain or redness etc. I took my praxis on Saturday and for the most part it went well. I used every bit of the 2 hour time limit though. There were 90 multi choice questions and 2 essay. I think I nailed the essay questions and did pretty well on the other ones but I felt that a lot of the time I had narrowed the choice down to two and then couldn't make a decision about which one was right. But we will see in a month if I passed or not. I will still have a job at Mehlville if I pass or not but I really don't want to pay to take the test again so hopefully I did well.

Summer has been slow, there isn't a lot to do right now. I haven't been a stay at home mom in a long time so I need to get back in the groove. We are planning a lake trip next week and then a trip to Branson in July. No big trips this summer unlike last year's Disney trip. We had originally planned to drive to Williamsburg for a week in July with the in-laws but due to the high gas prices we have decided to do Branson instead.

We've been to the pool a few times and seen Hannah play a few softball games but other than that not much else.

The carpet in the basement finally got installed today and it looks wonderful. Furniture comes on Friday and we should be able to move everything else in over the weekend. YEAH! I plan on taking pics of the finished product ASAP and posting them here.

Pink Eye Shmink Eye

Well my summer is off to a bang as I have contracted a raging case of conjunctivitis also known as Pink Eye. It started in my right eye and then seemed to get better. Now it has jumped to the left eye and there is no sign of stopping. I went to an Urgent Care center while I was still at school last week because the school nurse said I was contagious. They gave me some antibiotic eye drops which seemed to help for a few days. Then last Friday it seemed to get worse and move into the left eye. If you've never had it it's really fun with symptoms including runny eyes, pink crusty eyeball, swelling eye lid, and pain. Right now my eyes are just constantly running, it looks as though I am always crying. I went to pick up dinner at a local BBQ place, Phil's, and as I was waiting I am sure the people there must have been thinking "Why is this lady crying?" because my eyes were weeping and red and I was constantly wiping them.

To make matters worse I have to take the Praxis exam for my certification in Middle School Language arts on Saturday morning. This will be terrible if I can't even read the questions. I guess I should break down and go back to the doctor. Luckily no one else in the family has it yet!

On a positive note, we just got back from the lake for a long weekend trip and had a good time boating and swimming.

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Goodbye Monroe

It is with much sadness and apprehension that I leave St. Louis Public Schools and Monroe Elementary today. I am taking an 8th grade language arts position in the Mehlville school district and leaving the only place I have ever taught.

I have really enjoyed working with the staff and principal for the last three years. I have made some lasting friendships and know that it will be difficult to find another group of people so dedicated to one common cause. But with this district being in such turmoil and change, I felt it was time to make a move.

I remember back three years ago the day I walked into Monroe for my interview. As I walked up the stairs, I felt that this was the place I was suppossed to be. After my long search for a teaching position, I was finally led to the school that really needed me. I have certainly enjoyed working with these kids, however hard it has been, I have always been greatful to have been a part of their lives. I know I have learned more from them then they ever learned from me.

Last week all the 8th graders that I had for 2 years in my 6th and 7th grade class graduated and are moving on to high school so I guess it is fitting that I move on with them.

Today is the end of the school year! Hello SUMMER!

SATC Movie

Yes that's right! For those of you that don't know the acronym in my title it stands for Sex and the City. I went to see the movie last night and it was fabulous! It had everything we SATC fans could've wanted and more. It was funny, sad, poignant, happy.... the list goes on and on. If you know me well, you know that I am by no means what people would call a girlie girl and I could care less about fashion. So why do I love SATC? Because it is an insiders look into a world that I will never know from a woman's point of view. It is about the importance of friendship and relationships. It is a fantasy world that really might exsist out there for some. I loved the series, and now love the movie and hope they will have a sequel.

I won't give away the details, no I'm not a spoiler. But I will say that you will not be disappointed! And Big looks better than ever. I still say he is the hottest male character ever created.

BLING!

I DID IT

I did it, I downloaded a blog template and it actually allowed me to get rid of the GIF. Ofcourse it also deleted a few of my other widgets but I don't care, I was getting tired of them anyway. Now I can look for new widgets to add to my page. YIPPEE. I still have links to friend's blogs and the other sites I check often.

I LOVE the new template, it's really cute. I'm playing around with it a bit so it may change a little but I now have my title at the top.

Updated Blog Scheme

As you can see I still can't get rid of that animated gif I inserted in my header. I am trying to work with it but I really hate it. There is a glitch in the blogger system and it won't let me remove it from my layout. I can revert back to a classic layout but I lose all the stuff on my side bar like my links, hit counter etc. But I may have to do it just to get rid of the gif.

I have friends with blogger blogs, typepad blogs, wordpress blogs and mac blogs whop have such creative templates and headers, wish I could do more with mine right now.

Since there was NOTHING on TV last night now that Idol is over, I spent a good 45 minutes playing around with templates and colors on my blog and could not remove the header. Oh well, those that read this blog know who I am, guess I don't really need a title or a picture to tell whose blog it is, RIGHT?!?

Dry Basement + New Carpet +New Furniture = Happy Alison

So, the flooring company mentioned in the prvious post is NOT, I repeat NOT, making it right so we thought the heck with them and are getting carpeting from another place. But hold it, wait a minute, back track, the basement is DRY, yes DRY. Yes St.Louis had about 4 inches of rain this weekend but our basement is dry. Thank God for sump pumps!!!

So we picked out carpet and then I saw that Rothman's was having a Memorial Day Blowout sale. I thought I would take a look at a love seat I liked for the basement because we currently have no furniture available for down there.


We are not getting all of this, actually getting 2 love seats and the accent chair and ottoman which I love and will put in my living room not the basement. We will move our taupe colored leather chair and ottoman from our living room down in the basement with the smoky love seats. I think it will look great.



These are the tables that we got. I may end up having these in my living room also and give the kids my old ones from up there. I just love the stone look of them!

Carpet and furniture will be installed and delivered in about 2 weeks. It's been two months so what's a couple more weeks.

Customer Service

I have been hassling with the flooring company who installed the carpet in our basement for over 3 weeks now and it has really got me steaming. The salesman brought out three samples of carpet for us to choose from that were in the price range discussed with our contractor who sub contracted the flooring to Borghi Floors. Of the three samples we chose one from a 4in by 4in square. Two days later we were told that color was out of stock, so we choose another color. Four days later we were told that they forgot to put the order in and now it would take a few more days to get ordered and shipped from the manufactuer in Georgia. Then once it arrived there was a three day delay in getting the "best" installer to put it in. It was installed May 5th, but it looked terrible. There was a huge seam showing, adn the carpet itself was stained, yes stained. We complained and the salesmen came back after 3 more days and said yes he would have to re-order more carpet to make up for the stained piece. At this point, we told him we were unsatisfied with the carpet's quality as a whole and we wanted it removed and something different put in its place. The carpet was removed on May 12th but left to sit in the garage because someone from the manufacturer was going to come and inspect so that Borghi Flooring could get their money back. As of yesterday the carpet was still in our garage.

I called Kenny, our salesman again to complain about removing the carpet from the garage. He very rudely told me it couldn't be removed until it was inspected. I told him I wanted it gone today or we would put it out in the trash. At this point this guy starts yelling at me saying if we put it in the trash they will sue us etc. I very calmly told him that I never signed a contract with him, I signed it with our contractor and as of yet we had not paid our contractor for the flooring portion of our remodel and I would not pay if this was not rectified. I also told Kenny that I would never reccommend the company to anyone. He told me he wouldn't want to work with anyone I would reccommend anyway. At this point as he continued to yell, I hung up.

As I was steaming mad, I called Borghi Floors and asked to talk to the owner who I left a message for. He returned my call later and I explained everything that had happened over the course of the last three weeks. All of which he was unaware of. The owner promised to have the carpet removed today and he said "he wanted to make this right." To be honest, I really don't believe that this company will make it right. In fact I am ready to go through another company. AND as of yet we are still unable to use the basement as there is NO carpeting down there, just sub floor.

What was suppossed to be finished within a week is now going on a month, and there is no end in sight! FRUSTRATED does not even cover it.

Needless to say if you live in St. Louis and need flooring, don't go to Borghi!

A Camping We Will Go

Just got back from the 8th grade camping trip. I went with the 8th graders from my school and their teacher to a camping trip at Camp Lakewood in Potosi, MO. It was a blast. We spent 3 days and 2 nights out there this week and the kids had an awesome time. Several of these kids were ones that I had for the last two previous years in my 6th and 7th grade classroom. It was cool to be able to spend this time with them and see how much they have grown and matured.

They experienced all sorts of activities from canoeing to riflery to archery to wall climbing and a zip line. They participated in large group team building challenges and learned how to build a fire. The camp had an interactive campfire for us with songs and skits and ofcourse smores. We braved the rainy weather, the bugs and all the hiking. (I'm exhausted)

I was happy to be home Wednesday night. I thought I would post some fun pics from our adventure.

Interview Time

Since my last post was about an incident at work, I thought today I would write about an interview I had. I interviewed at the Mehlville School District. The person interviewing me was the principal at one of the middle schools. The interview went really well, it started out with the standard 20 questions that everyone gets asked but we veered off when he found out that I had experience teaching 6th and 7th grade and a background in special education. We really hit it off and he told me he had a communication arts opening for 6th grade. By the end of the interview he said he would definitly call me back for a follow up interview at his school next week. I am very excited, Mehlville, like all districts, has had it's problems but for the most part they are a pretty big, stable school district!

Go Panthers!

Peace

There are a lot of things to blog about concerning this title. The main one being an incident that happened at work, which I will get too in a minute. First off, basement update.

The carpet was back ordered and should, SHOULD, be in on Friday to install Friday afternoon. The outside stuff is done the painting is just about complete inside. All that needs to be finished is the carpeting, the baseboards and the trim. All should take place on Friday. Then we should be able to move everything down there this weekend. YEAH!!!!!! Bob is off, it will be a cool weekend, not too hot, perfect for moving stuff into the basement.

Second, Boomers update.

Hannah's team played last Sunday and she pitched almost the entire game except for part of the 3rd inning in which the other pitcher allowed 8 runs. Hannah's team lost 18 to 6 but she did do a really good job of pitching.

Now, school incident. (this may take a while to explain)

Here goes, yesterday, our school counselor arranged for this exhibit called the Peace Museum to come to our school and do these hands on little centers with our 2-5 graders all about peace. There were 10 stations. I was asked (or rather told) that I would be running one of the stations for most of the day. Breakfast and lunch would be provided to those that ran a station. So I show up early at 7:30 to the "training" for my station, I get myself organized and ready and the first group of kids comes through the exhibit taking about 90 minutes. Just as the second group is coming through, I get paged over the intercom to come to the office. So I run down to the office to see what's up. Our literacy coach, Mary, is sitting in the secretaries seat and she goes, the principal, the PE teacher, the secretary, the other resource teacher, and 3 other classroom teachers are all absent today. No subs have shown up, there were two fights one in 6th grade and one in 4th grade involving 6 students plus 3 other kids got kicked out of ISS (inshcool suspension) and I need someone to help me call parents and run the school.

So I am like YIKES!! Sure I'll help, what can I do? She goes start calling parents to come pick up these kids who are ALL now suspended. So of course I start doing what she asked. Meanwhile I send a note upstairs to the counselor explaining the situation and telling her I will be back ASAP. After about an hour, most of the kids in the office have been picked up and things have calmed down. Mary tells me that there are only 3 of us ( including me) to do lunch and recess duty instead of the usual 5. So of course I tell her I will help. So by this time it is just about lunch time for the volunteers upstairs. SO I run up to tell the counselor that I have to do lunch duty but I can return to my station after that when the afternoon sessions start up. She is in the staff room getting the pizza and salad set up and I come and in and again apologize and ask if there is anything I can do to help. She very forcefully tells me " No we don't need you." So I am like well I'll be back after lunch and she goes " I said we don't need you!"

Back I go downstairs to the office and I tell Mary that I think I just got stiffed out of lunch. She's like, no way, she will still let you eat, what's the big deal, I asked you to help me out. So I stay in the office answering the phones while Mary goes to the first lunch duty. Meanwhile another friend comes down to bring me a soda and another comes down to see if she can bring me lunch. So I'm like, I don't think the counselor will let me eat, she's mad. So my friend, Karen, is like that's ridiculous, you were doing what you were told, I'll go bring you some food. Karen comes back empty handed and says the counselor told me you couldn't eat because you made a choice to leave your station and come down here and they didn't really need you. So now you don't get to eat. Karen said she explained that I was doing what I was told and that I would be back later. But the counselor tells Karen to go downstairs and ask if I was going to be back later or not. At this point I told Karen, don't bother going back up there, I wouldn't eat now if she paid me too.

Karen was upset, I was upset and for the next 20 minutes several of the other teachers came in to hear the story and express their outrage. I never did go back up there but instead did my lunch and recess duty and helped out in the office. I didn't see the counselor for the rest of the day and I have decided that it is not worth my time or effort to say anything to her. But I know that what goes around comes around!

The ironic thing about the whole deal was that we were helping out at the Peace Museum, their motto being Peace for Me, Peace for You, Peace for Everyone, Peace for the Planet. I guess the counselor missed that message!

Basement Update, Blog Problems and other Ramblings

First off, the basement is coming along quite nicely. It's fun picking out the paint and flooring. If the rain holds, they should be finished by Monday. DARN that pesky rain!

I am having major issues with my blog, I inserted a gif animation that says Lucky Me to see what it looked like and now I can't get rid of the darn thing. Blogger is being difficult and you can't get help from them you have to go to an online help center question forum, which of course is NO help! So I changed my template but I still don't like it and now there is no acutal title. I'm working on it. I was thinking about moving my stuff to a different blogger blog but not sure how to retreive all my posts and all my other saved stuff in order to move it to a new address. So if anyone out there can help, please email. Also, I have been getting some weird comments, so for now I put in that I need to approve all comments before they are posted but don't let that stop anyone from writing an appropriate comment.

Hannah's team won their first game 26 to 13, I know it sounds like a basketball score but this will probably be a re-buildng year for the Boomers.

Another long lost friend is also having a baby. Andrea is due in September. That is another edition to a long line of friends who have had or are having babies soon.


Sparky has been staying at Grandmas while the basement is being finished and the back yard is torn up but I really miss him so I thought I would post this cute picture of him and Justin.

Is Spring Finally Here?

I think it may be official, Spring has arrived in St. Louis. Now if only the rain would stay away. For those that don't know, we did have flood number three last week. Not quite as bad as the first two but still wet carpet and flooring etc. We did get a bid on fixing the entire problem including re-doing the basement (new carpet, paint, drywall etc) that we can actually live with. So with the help of family and some MAJOR budgeting on our part, we are going to have the basement fixed. And barring any rain, they will start on it today and hopefully be finished by next weekend! YEAH!!!!

I can definitely tell Spring has sprung for my kids, because not a one of them wants to do any school work! Adam asked me today, "Mom, who invented school?" And I was like, "HMM, I don't know?" He goes, "Whoever it was is evil!" I thought, I feel the same ways sometimes. But I said "School is fun, you get to see your friends and learn a lot of new things." He goes, "Whatever, MOM!" I CRACKED up laughing!

Hannah has her first softball game this weekend. Go Boomers!! She's a little nervous because she will have to do some pitching but I know she will be great.

Justin has quickly learned where all his friends in the neighborhood live and he and his buddies have gotten together a Friday night Poker Game. They play with real money but use nickles, dimes and quarters. Each kid has to have $3 to play and that's all they can lose. He said it was blast last week and I told him we could host it as soon as the basement is finished. Not too sure I like the gambling aspect but we have been playing cards including poker and tripoly with the kids for years so Justin is quite good at it.

That's the update for now.

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Baby Boom

There seem to be a lot of pregnant women in my life lately. So here is another birth announcement for you. Our friends and former neighbors Blaine and Nadine had a baby boy on April 7. They have named him Thomas Bruno! What a great name! He weighed in at a whopping 9lbs+. I'll post pics when I receive one and get the okay from the proud parents.

Congratulations Blaine, Nadine and big sister Sofia!

Next up is my best friend from college, Bridget and her husband Drew who live in Texas. They are due to give a little brother or sister to my godson and their son, Luke, sometime in July.

Then our friends Larry and Kim are due to have their first child, a boy, in August. (to tentatively be named Ethan Alexander)

All will be amazing parents!
xoxo~AL

Welcome Jane Elizabeth

My friends Jacki and Brian welcomed their daughter Jane Elizabeth on 4-4-08. She was only 5lbs 15oz and 18 3/4in long but she is quite adorable. Almost makes me want another one--- ALMOST!


Congratulations guys!
xoxo

Interesting Happenings

There are several interesting things to note today. First off, my friend Jacki is in labor as we speak. I have a link to her blog at the right. She is having a girl. Second, my friends Larry and Kim found out they are having a boy in August.

Also, on my favorite inspirational blog, Confessions of a CF Husband, Tricia received a double lung transplant today. If you have yet to check out that blog I highly reccommend that you take a look. It is truly an inspirational story.

It's funny how the light of new day makes everything seem like it is going to be okay. I mean look at all the things I have to be thankful for. This may sound cheesey coming from me but God is Good and I feel like things are going to eventually turn my way!

Enjoy your weekend, I know I am looking forward to the spring weather they are FINALLY predicting for St. Louis on Saturday!

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Flood Number #2

Flood number 2 happened Monday night. Not near as bad as the other time but they are predicting rain all weekend long. I was up till past midnight trying to shop vac the water up but it didn't matter. I couldn't stop the water from coming in because we can't really see where it is coming from. Bob was working so my dad and I shop vac'ed and used the push broom to get the water to go down the drain but it was no use. The carpet got wet again, so did the laminate flooring in the bedroom and the dry wall etc. Basically all the flooring is ruined. A water proofing company wants over $4000 to put in a sump pump system in which they tear up the dry wall, jackhammer the foundation around the enitre basement and generally make a complete mess. But they do guarantee that we will never have water again.

For now this seems like our only option, FEMA is not granting funds to St.Louis County, Insurance doesn't cover it so we are out of options.

This is the last time I am going to post about this as it makes me so upset to even think about. I may eventually post some pics of the flood but for now keep us in your thoughts as we try to clean up and do what's best for our family!

Paul McCartney Can You Spare a Dime?

Well you may be wondering about this title. And let me say a lot has gone on since I last blogged. First off we moved on 3-14-08. It went well and we were thankful for the help from our friend Bryan, my brother Ed, and my cousin Rick. They all worked really hard to help us pack and unpack our portable storage unit. We are also thankful for the help from my parents, especially my mom who finished cleaning my old house while I was closing on the new one. So things were going fine,continuing to put stuff away and unpack boxes. I was on Spring Break and the kids were riding their new bus to school and a back. Then came the RAIN. In St. Louis it rained non-stop for about 48 hours. Heavy rain, pouring rain for 2 days. During which time my new house's basement flooded. Yes that's right, a mere 4 days after we moved in the basement with it's nice family room, 4th bedroom and extra bathroom proceeded to flood for about 24 hours. And guess what the previous owners claim they NEVER had water in the basement ever before and insurance doesn't cover HYDROSTATIC water pressure. So we are out of luck!! Our basement is wet, the laminate flooring in the boys' bedroom is ruined, the baseboards had to be taken off, the carpet is soaked and a restoration company charged us $2500 to remove the water. Everything will need to be re-painted, the bedroom needs new flooring, we had to move out all the furniture. Adam's dresser got wet and may be ruined. It is literally a nightmare. And now just when I thought I may have an answer in the form of FEMA, they are only giving assistance to public agencies in the affected flood areas. Not individual households. So WHY DO I HAVE INSURANCE?

All this may lead you to wonder about the title of my post. Well I heard on the news that Paul McCartney finally settled his divorce and had to pay his former wife $48million after only having been married to him for 4 years. And thought to myself, wow what a rip off, AND how can I meet Paul McCartney, after all he is my favorite Beatle. Then another idea occurred, maybe Paul would loan me the money to have the repairs made to the basement which is probably going to include a new sump pump system which is the neighborhood of a $10,000 project at which time they have to tear up the entire basement. So Paul, Mr. McCartney, if you happen upon happen to read my little blog, and you would feel it in your heart to loan a few dollars to a poor St. Louis teacher and her equally poor policeman husband, just comment, or call, or send a telegram or a wire. THANKS!

For Tricia

As you may have seen I am a fan of a blog called Confessions of a CF Husband. I am posting this list for Nate's wife Tricia who is awaiting a lung transplant and just gave birth to a preemie girl 2 months ago.


Mommy things to look forward to:

* Dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten and having the tears cloud your vision as you drive away.
* Her first great hit at a softball game that makes all the other parents cheer and give you high fives
* Selling Girl Scout cookies to the next door neighbor, dressed in her Brownie uniform
* The first time she comes home with a boy's name written on her hand with a heart under it.
* When she slams her door and yells "You are the worst mom ever!"
* Hearing her say "Hi Mom!" as you walk in the door at the end of a really long day.
* Watching her play the same UNO game with her little brother for the 14th straight time just because he wants to.
* Shopping for her first training bra.
* Checking in on her at night to find her sleeping peacefully with IPOD headphones blaring in her ears.

Isn't Motherhood amazing!

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Teachers Gone Wild

Here is a sneak peek at the wild side of the Monroe teachers. More pics to come as soon as my friends email them to me. But you can see from these shots that we teachers had a BLAST at Kristen's Wedding! WOOO HOOOO!





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TOO MUCH SNOW

Well we have had two more snow days. That makes a total of 4.5 snow days. There were record snows in St. Louis on Tuesday. It was crazy to see 10 inches of snow fall in 4-5 hours time.

I have to admit though that I am SICK of it. I mean, yes as a teacher, I usually LOVE snow days but this is getting ridiculous. We will have to go to school forever at this rate. Justin, Hannah, and Adam's school sent out an email that said that school will not be out until June 10th. That's 6 days longer than the old ending date of June 4th. We were planning a vacation that week which is the week before I would start teaching summer school. Not sure what SLPS will do about all the snow days. Hopefully they will take professional development days away. Because I mean really, honestly, teahers don't really do anything productive on those PD days or teacher workshop days. Don't let us fool you non-teachers into thinking we are hard at work on those days. WRONG>> it's really just a much needed break from students. However, I would rather give up those days now and still get out of school on May 30.
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My Talented Cousin

My very talented cousin, Rebecca, has created her own online clothing store featuring name brand apparel at discounted prices. She is also in the production phase of her own line of clothes. She will be featuring boys' t-shirts that are comfortable, good quality, eco friendly, with creative designs in early April. As soon as I can I will post a sample t-shirt. I hope that all of my readers (oh you few but faithful) will check out her store. You can find it at www.310apparel.com I will also have a link to it at under my side bar.

I am very proud of my little (1O months younger) cousin and hope that she will have much success.

FYI> Attended my friend, Kristen's wedding this weekend and had a blast with all my co-workers. Shower and wedding pics to come shortly!
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elfingo.com

An old friend of ours, Bryan, has recently created his own online auction site to rival eBAY. It's called elfingo.com. I hope that you will take a look at and give it try, it is much cheaper than eBAY and currently receiving 4000 hits a day. Plus it was all created by a local St. Louis Dad. Which I think is pretty cool! Bob has listed a few items and done very well in the sale. There was even a little online article about the new site.

I am adding the link to my friend's blog list at the right.

I also wanted to note that I have added links to a couple of really inspirational blogs that I read from time to time. Both are worth investigating!
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Moving, Moving, Moving

New house pics!


It's official, we are moving. We finally sold our house (after 2 years). We put a bid on a house in Affton yesterday and we are 98% sure that we will be moving there. The only thing that may affect it is the building inspection. But we definitely have to be out of our house on March 14th. Not much time but I think we can handle it.

I'm excited, nervous, apprehensive etc but I look at as a new beginning and some much needed change.

The house is kind of small but very well maintained and upgraded. It has a really nice finished basement with a 4th bedroom and nice fenced in yard for Sparky. The kitchen is small but very cute and the 2 full baths have recently been re-done. The kids are excited and have already talked about the friends they know in the neighborhood. It will be a nice change for them to all be able to ride the bus to and from school everyday. (plus the savings on gas)
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Busy Weekend Over, Boredom Sets In

I have been dreading/looking forward to the weekend for quite a while and now that it is over, I'm feeling bored.

On Friday, I hosted a shower for my friend Kristen from work who is getting married in March. The dread came in worrying about preparing the house and making the food etc for the party the looking forward came in wanting all my friends and co-workers to come over for a really great time.

Well, it was a really, really fun shower. The house looked great, thanks in to the big help from my hubby and kids. They even made themselves and the dog scarce all evening so we "girls" could have fun. And fun we had, a little too much fun probably. It gets kinda scarey when grown woman contemplate Teepeeing their bosses or co-workers house. Everyone said how much fun they had and how much they liked my food etc. Kristen was very appreciative about everything.

Then on Sudnay night we had her bachelorette party at the Lumiere, a new casino on the St. Louis Riverfront. It was also fun , but I must say not as much fun as at my house.

But now, it's Monday, another day off work and I am a little bored. I guess I am actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. (Did I really just say that?)

CHECK IT OUT!!

I just noticed on my cluster map that I got a hit from someone in Australia and in southeast Asia. COOOOOOOOOL!!

Keep hitting the blog, I love it! (and feel free to comment)

Love is in the Air

Yeah I guess you could say love is in the air, cause it's Valentine's Day. For us that means a card with two monkeys dressed as man and wife sitting on a couch watching tv. The outside says "Honey, with you words aren't necessary" and the inside says "neither are pants." (Cause the monkeys are not wearing pants)

GET IT?? I thought it was hilarious! Here's hoping you spend your Valentine's Day with someone you love enough not to have to wear pants!

TOO COLD!!

ARGGG, I am really sick of this cold St. Louis weather. I know it's only mid February but DANG! It's just too cold! I really need a nice, warm vacation right now.


This should be us!!

Terrible Tragedy

Those of you living in St. Louis have surely heard about the tragedy that unfolded last night in Kirkwood. Two police officers and three Kirkwood city council members were killed, two others including the mayor were injured when a gunmen opened fire at a Zoning meeting.

This really hit close to home for me as the wife of a Crestwood police officer which is Kirkwood's closet municipality. Needless to say I was glued to my tv all night and getting updates from Bob who arrived late because he was downtown with me at the school board meeting where I got the award for the slogan. Bob reported horrors too graphic for this blog but he and all of the St. Louis law enforcement community are taking this really hard.

I had a hard time calming the fears of my kids who where really nervous about their father's line of work.

Please pray for the families of the victims as they struggle to get through their grief.

Life is too short to hold grudges, worry about impossibilities, or keep blaming people for past mistakes. I am trying to find something postive in light of this tragedy and I hope it will come in a renewal in faith of God, family and friends.

Good News

I have a little bit of good news to announce. In our district, they were looking for a new slogan that would represent all the changes being made in an effort to get back on track. Well they had a contest for employees to submit slogans and I won.

Last night I had to go to a board meeting and they presented me with a certificate and a check for $500.

Pretty cool huh?

My winning slogan is: Building Our Future: One Community, One School, One Child at a time.

February Is Already Here

Can't believe that February is here already. This school year is flying by. As a special ed teacher, Feb. and March are our busiest times of the year. Most IEP's and re-evaluations are due at this time which means lots and lots of paperwork for us/me! Plus this month is the Pinewood Derby and The Blue and Gold Banquet for CubScouts, I also have a shower and bachelorette party for my best pal from work, Kristen. Her wedding is in March along with spring break, the hockey all star game, our anniversay, my mom's birthday, my parents anniversary and Easter. WHEW! This will really be a busy couple of months.

AND, the best most exciting event for our family is our beloved dog, Sparky's birthday on March 8th. Hannah is already planning the party!! She thinks she is going to bake a doggie cake and invite Petey, Bandit and Baby to Sparky's party which she says should be at a Dog Park. I rarely ever post about Sparky but I must admit he truly is man's or in this case woman's best friend. I know I am probably a little bit biased but he is the sweetest, best dog in the whole world. He is usually pretty calm, except when another dog walks by our house then he barks like crazy from his perch in our front window. He will sleep with me, goes everywhere I go, runs to greet me at the end of a day and is always ready for some love.


See for yourself what a sweetie pie he is>>>>>

I'm So Excited

Okay maybe I'm not that excited but I have a new link to put up and I noticed that I had a hit on my blog from Europe!! WOW, someone all the way over there is looking at my little blog, how cool. You will also notice that I changed the look of the blog. I'm not exactly sure if I will keep like that or not we'll see if grows on me.

Anyway, my new link is to the website of an old friend from high school, Jacki. She recently married another old high school friend, Brian Simpson, their story is really cute because they dated in high school then didn't see each other for 15 years. In the meantime both had graduated from college, gotten jobs, Brian had married had a child and divorced. Then just last April, they met up again, fell back in love, moved in together, got married in September, are expecting their first child in April and bought a new house in October. Their story is like a little fairy tale!! I am so happy that they both found each other again.

Jacki's blog is a fun little diary about her pregnancy and other events in her new life. Check it out!

New Link, New Blogging Family

I just posted about a friend WHO has decided to take a blogging sabbatical, well now I want to post about a new blog that I have checked out lately and find to be incredibly cute and funny. This is the blog of Pam Jordan, she is the sister-in-law to an old friend from high school, Leslie. Anyway, Leslie and I have lost touch as she and her family live in Cincinnati and we really only exchange Christmas Cards, the occasional phone call and here recently an email or two. I ran into Leslie's mom awhile back and she mentioned her daughter-in law's blog and from time to time I check and so I thought I would include it as one of my blog links. The Jordan's have two sons and are very busy with work and life just like the rest of us. But if the mood strikes to see pics of two little cuties or the grumblings, opinions, and joys of another St. Louis mom then check out their blog!

Feeling Blue

The color of my blog exactly describes my mood lately, blue. Don't know why but I have been depressed lately. Maybe it's the cold weather and short days or maybe it's the holidays, they always remind me of how much debt I have. Or it could be the fact that nothing seems to go right.

1. We have had our house for sale for 5 months, 4 of those with a contingent contract. Yesterday we were informed that the other people can't sell their house and want to release the contract. GREAT, back to square one again. I am really getting fed up with selling this house. Someone please buy it!!

2. My job is really bugging me, the kids at Monroe are really wild and out of control. At Mallinckrodt the kids are good but the teachers are all nuts. Can't win on either account.. At this point, I am not sure if teaching is the right thing for me. Not to brag, but I am too smart for this. I should be doing website design or event planning or public relations or something. Is it too late for a career change?

3. My own children have been disappointing. Justin's grades have fallen especially in math, Hannah has become very willful and disrespectful. Adam has no interest in school. Anyone want to borrow three kids for a while?

4. My personal life has gone down the drain. It seems like all my old friends are gone. As we age, the stress of life and family pulls us away from our friends and that is what has happened with me. Bob and I have long ago given up doing things together so when you also don't have any friends, life gets a little lonely despite how busy and hectic I am. Any old friends who view this, hey where've you been?

I have never been one to like winter and right now I could use the spring. Maybe that's what I need to rejuvenate.

Those Crazy Cub Scouts

As most of you know, I am the leader of Adam's cub scout den. I thought when I volunteered that it would be fun, WRONG!! It is just plain work and the meetings are so chaotic with 14 second grade age boys running around. Last night we had a meeting and we were trying to complete some requirements to earn our WOlf Rank so I had the boys making paper bag masks, performing a skit, playing a game and making a chore chart. I thought this would take up the whole meeting. WRONG, it took up about half the meting because they don't care about sitting and making a mask or a chore chart or performing a skit. All they care about is running around and rough housing and yelling and screaming, this has probably added to my stress level this week. But I am posting a couple pictures of the rowdy crew so you can see for yourself.


The Cub Scouts with their paper bag masks. Adam is the one in the blue striped shirt.


Playing a game at cubscouts, whose the fastest at eating a doughnut dangled from a string without using your hands.

Long Week

This has been such a long week. I guess because it is the first full week back to school, but it seems like there have been 8 days in this week. I have so many things to do at school, tons of paperwork and assignments to complete that it has been really stressful. Going to two different schools is hard because I am constantly thinking that I left something at the other school undone when I am at the alternate one. Makes life frustrating.

To top it off I checked Justin and Hannah's grades online and noticed that they were both in getting a D in one class. The quarter ends next week so I was wondering why we never got progress reports in early December. Well after grilling both kids for a while we found out that Justin threw the progress reports away before we got home one day. Man I was furious!! The worst part is Hannah had no idea her grade was so low and it turns out it was mostly due to some missing assignments when she was sick with the Poison Ivy for a week in November. So now she is furious. But I did manage to talk to her teacher and she is able to make up the missing assignments so hopefully that will raise her grade. She got a B in that class first quarter and the rest of her grades are all A's & B's. Justin's other grades are all very good also, mostly A's but he is struggling gin pre-algebra. However he never brings homework home. But he is now grounded from his new xbox 360 until he brings the grade up to a B.

Anyhow, it has been a very long week!

Weird Weather

Can you believe the weather we are having in St. Louis for the last few days? Yesterday we had a high of 73 and it is currently 69 degrees right now. We turned off the heat and had the windows open. We bar-b-qued some steaks and took the dog for a walk. This morning Justin wore shorts to school and I didn't even need a jacket. Ofcourse Justin has a rule that he can wear shorts if the temp is above 32.

This is great but with St. Louis weather, it won't last, in facct they are forecasting for a chance of snow on Thursday evening. Crazy, but we are enjoying it while it lasts.

Tired of Hearing about the I 64/40 Shutdown Already

Is anyone else sick of hearing about the highway 40 shutdown already? It has only been closed for 2 days now but that is all they talk about on the news, I am really tired of hearing about it. They have had a count down to the shutdown going for 85 days. It's too much!!

Maybe I am just biased because the shutdown does not really affect me. I don't travel on 40 much to begin with and I don't travel on any of the highways to get to work so I really just don't care.

They even have websites devoted to the shutdown.

Success in the Cotton Bowl

For those of you who may have missed it, Mizzou gave Arkansas a solid beating in the Cotton Bowl on New Years Day. Just goes to show that they should have been a contender in a BCS Bowl Game. But Gary Pinkel recently got a well deserved contract extension and Chase Daniel is only a junior and Jeremy Maclin only a freshman, so here's hoping that the future is bright for the MU football team!


GO TIGERS! M I Z- Z O U!!

Happy Holidays

It's been a while since I have blogged but it's just been so busy that there hasn't been time. Since I last blogged we have had Adam's birthday, the end of school for Christmas Break, Christmas and New Years. And now low and behold I am back at school!

I wanted to take the time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year on behalf of our family!

I am posting several pictures of the birthday and Christmas with my thoughts and captions to catch up the world on Nixon happenings in December.




Adam is 8 years old.


Clowning around at Happy Joes with friends.


Hannah looking more grown up every year.


Adam in front of all the Christmas loot.


Sparky enjoys Christmas!


Justin gets another coveted hoodie for Christmas

Updates

I updated my blog's look but am still not quite satisfied with so it may change again.

I am doing pretty good so far with my Christmas shopping. But I have this overwhelming feeling that I am running out of time. There are 13 days until Christmas and the next two weeks are extremely busy. The only people I really have to shop for are the adults, who are the hardest. Plus now I have to do a secret santa thing next week at work. Good thing Bob's work doesn't do any of that, men just don't care about that kind of thing and since there is only one woman police officer in Crestwood, she is at a slight disadvantage.

I am looking forward to some much needed time off for Christmas break! It always seems to go by so fast though....

4th place is okay

Well Chase Daniel came in 4th place in the Heisman Trophy vote. But hey, that's okay, there hasn't been an MU player in the running in quite some time. I know I am still extremely proud of Chase and the team.

I'll be changing my blog's colors again, I am giving MU the spotlight on my blog for a few more days!

BIG 12 Letdown

Once again, Oklahoma ran over Mizzou's offense in their win on Saturday. It was a devastating loss for those of us who have been following the team's season. Now it's the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day against Arkansas. Hopefully our Tigers will eat some Hog that day!! M-I-Z, Z-O-U!

Heisman Bound?

Is Chase Daniel bound for the Heisman Trophy?

M-I-Z Z-O-U

Quarterback Chase Daniel

Can you believe the Mizzoui victory over rival KU? As most of you know I went to Mizzou for 3 years and even though I graduated from UMSL I still sort of consider myelf a alumni. It was a great game and I enjoyed watching it with Justin who is a huge football fan and now thinks he wants to attend Mizzou himself. And as of Sunday Mizzou was ranked the number 1 college footabll team for the first time in 47 years. Pretty impressive!!

http://mutigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/112507aaa.html

This is a link to a story about the game in case you missed it!

Scary Poison Ivy Girl

Here is a picture of Hannah at the height of her flu/poison ivy epidemic. I will post pics of the new puppy and Thanksgiving dinner later, but this one is too bizarre not share.

Puppies, Poison Ivy, the Flu and Thanksgiving

You name it and it has happened this Thanksgiving. First off Hannah contracted Poison Ivy last week, by Tuesday evening it had somewhat faded and our plans for a Thanksgiving at home were going ahead as scheduled. That evening my father got a new puppy, a black pug. Then came Wednesday, the kids were all off school but I had to work and so did Bob. Generally this is not a good combination but they are getting old enough to stay home alone now so off we both went to work. By 11am I got a call from Justin saying Hannah was sick. So I went home thinking I would stop in and check on her and then go back to work as we didn't have kids that day at work just a series of "teacher meetings". When I arrived, Hannah was sitting on the toilet with a towel wrapped around her and stuff coming out of both ends. To make matters worse, everywhere that she has her poison ivy, which was mostly on her face, was a ghastly shade or purple. I mean it was horrible!!!! SO after getting the boys situated at my parents' house, I called the DR. to tell of Hannah's condition. She had already been there on Monday and they diagnosed the Poison Ivy but the color was now a big concern. As the afternoon wore on, I decided to take her in. When we arrived at the Dr's office and got taken to the room the Dr comes in and goes " I've never seen anything like it before." Not the best news from your child's dr. But after examining her and seeing her throw up a few more times, he sent her home with nothing more than a "keep an eye on it and take her to the er if it gets worse."

Well at this point I thought, "There goes Thanksgiving." But after her stomach settled down, she felt much better and by morning she was able to eat something and keep it down, her face was starting to fade to a maroon and she wanted to "help" me cook Thanksgiving dinner.

So it is now 9 pm, dinner is over and everything turned out great. My stuffing was delicious, my turkey so moist. And best of all my in laws were able to make it over for dinner and bring Grandma's homemade pumpkin and cherry pies. We ate, played Apples to Apples and had dessert. Now the kids are watching the Incredibles as I type and Hannah's face is now a more rose color.

Now I'm just praying we all don't get the flu!!

My own Thanksgiving

This year, I am breaking with tradition and preparing my own Thanksgiving. At first I was a little sad that I wouldn't be seeing any of my relatives for the holiday but after thinking about it, it will actually be so much easier for my family. First off I don't have to worry about what my kids wear or how they look. I don't have to worry if I am not helping out enough or if I am just in the way. I don't have to worry about the kids spilling anything. I don't have to make 3 plates up before I eat my own meal.

I am cooking a turkey, which I have done before and making homemade stuffing for the first time. I will have green bean casserole complete with the fried onions on top, carrots (just for color because I am the only on who will eat them), corn, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (a Nixon kid favorite), and a small dish a sweet potatoes that I bought at Dierbergs (again because I am the only one who will eat them). Plus rolls and a little relish tray because Justin considers pickles a vegetable. For dessert, we will probably go to my in-laws and take them some food and have dessert there because my mother-in-law has been too sick to leave the house. I will buy a pumpkin pie or 2 from Tippins (Bob's favorite). I am not a baker so it is store bought pies for us. But I will also probably make some Brownies just cause I don't like pumpkin pie.

We have decided (I mean I have decided) to try to eat around 3 or so to give us time to visit Grandma and Grandpa Nixon. In the morning I will get the turkey going, then watch the Macy's parade, then do some cleaning so the house looks nice for the long weekend I am off. Maybe take a snooze on the couch while Justin watches football, then finish up the meal, eat, visit, and back home for game night with the kids. Then a weekend where we are all off together. Thinking about going up to Our Lady of the Snows Christmas light festival on Friday evening and I am actually thinking about doing some shopping on Friday even though I always think people who do that are crazy. But Bob said he would go and drop me off at the door of different places and either wait or join me inside.

Who knows if this goes well we may stay home for Christmas too!

Anyone know any good stuffing recipes?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Justin's Birthday and other October Happenings

I realized I haven't posted anything about Justin's 13 birthday or my 35 or the rest of the month of Ocotber.

So here goes, Justin had great birthday going paintballing with friends and getting to eat dinner at Red Robin. He got a tent and a nintendo DS system and money and some clothes (which he needed but didn't really want).

For my birthday we didn't do much, I went out to dinner with friends from work and as a family we went to Red Lobster which is always good. No winery trip like I wanted because no one could seem to get together. Maybe in the next few weeks I can get out to one.

We also attending the Wedding of our old friend Walter. Bob was one of the groomsmen.

Otherwise the month was busy with football, hockey, and cub scouts. We are always busy running here and there from one activity to the next.

Halloween 2007

Halloween was a big success this year again. Mom made her fantastic stuffed green pepper soup and white chicken chili, yummy! And despite having previously said they would not dress up for Halloween, both Justin and Hannah wore costumes, Justin a cop, Hannah a clown. Adam ofcourse had great time as the evil black spiderman. It was a really nice night, not too cold or rainy as in years past. I was also able to go to Adam's Halloween party and parade at school, which I hadn't done since Hannah was in first grade. It was fun and Adam was really glad I was there.

Everyone, including me, and all the kids at my school were very cranky the next day though. November 1st, teacher's worst nightmare!!