Affton Cougars Football 2008

These kids played great all season long and they are definitely champions in my book.

Justin is wearing #72..

Hockey Fight

Adam had a little accident at hockey practice Monday night that required an emergency trip to the dentist.

see what I mean (pic taken with my camera phone, not great quality)





All better now with a cap on the tooth, he won't let me take his picture of the new tooth for some reason, he says it's no one's business but his. Too bad Adam, mom can't let that slip by without posting!


(no it wasn't a fight, someone shot a hard puck and hit him in the mouth, just glad I wasn't there to see the initial reaction)

Sparky got a haircut!

Isn't he handsome!!

Happy Birthday Justin

Justin turned 14 on October 12th and I really can't believe how quickly the years have gone by. This year he actually asked for clothes for his birthday, I mean CLOTHES!! Good God, he's a teenager through and through! So that's what he got, new jeans, and hoodies, and sports team shirts. He also got NFL Madden 09 for XBOX and has been playing it non-stop. We went to Red Robin for his birthday. Tomorrow night he and his friends are going to a Haunted House then having a bonfire in our backyard and spending the night. Hannah camping with her friend Kelly and her family so I thought this would be the perfect weekend for his party. Tomorrow morning is his last football game of the season and I WILL take pictures and post them ASAP. I haven't taken many pics lately because our camera is on the fritz but I AM going to get football pics.

I came across some old baby photos of Justin that I thought I would post because they sure bought a lump to my throat when I thought of how quickly he will be grown up.


Newborn Justin


Justin at age 5


Justin at age 11


Justin today.

7lbs 2oz. when he was born 14 years ago now at 6 ft tall and 200+ pounds, on his way to becoming a man.......... so proud of who he has become!

-2

Down another 2 lbs. Not bad. I keep trying.

So much to say so little time

I can't believe it is mid October already. I was hoping October would linger for a while but NOPE it is flying by. I am going to attempt to do some major catching up in the next few posts. WHEW!

But, don't you just LOVE this weather!! UGH I wish it would stay this way with highs in the mid 60's and lows in the 40's for a long time instead of just a few weeks. The leaves are starting to turn, it's so pretty on our street.

October Bliss

Can't believe it's October already. Seems like I was just posting about it being labor day and boom we are 7 weeks into the new school year. October is my favorite month of the year. WHY?
Justin's birthday (10/12 he will be 14), my birthday (10/19), my dad's birthday (10/24) and Halloween, my favorite holiday of the year.

And mother nature sure has provided some awesome fall weather to ring in October. It's been cool, sunny and wonderful. Yesterday I took Justin to his football game and even got a little sunburned, but it was a great game with the Cougars winning 39-18 and Justin doing a fantastic job at center all game!

The leaves are just starting to change, ahhhhhhh FALL!

-3

Nothing more to say, after a two week hiatus from weighing, I lost 3 pounds.

No Big Deal!

Bohemian Rhapsody, Morgan Freeman and Hershey's Kisses

So I had this bright idea that I would have my students write a compare/contrast essay about Hershey's Kisses and Skittles. I wanted to do it in stages to kind of draw it out and get more lessons out of it. I started day one with a quote from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"I can't do without it [gum]. I munch it all day long except for a few minutes at mealtimes when I take it out and stick it behind my ear for safekeeping. To tell you the truth, I simply wouldn't feel comfortable if I didn't have that little wedge of gum to chew on every moment of the day, I really wouldn't." ~Violet Beauregarde

Then I asked the kids to write about what they can't do without. I got some pretty cool responses but the two I liked best were Bohemian Rhapsody and Morgan Freeman. The kid who said he couldn't do without Bohemian Rhapsody said that it was his favorite song and he listened to it and sang it every day and he couldn't imagine not being able to hear it. The one who said Morgan Freeman wrote about all the great movie roles Morgan Freeman has played, specifically his role in the Dark Knight.

Sure they wrote these responses to be funny but in reality the points they made were actually pretty thought out, so I guess my little assignment did have some impact. We barley even had time to talk about Hershey's Kisses so we will be continuing that tomorrow.

Twilight

Just finished the novel Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and all I can say is WOW! It was breathtaking. I had seen several of my female 8th grade students reading it at school and many of them had commented on how much they love it so I thought I would give it a try. Well I was blown away. It's target audience I guess would be teenage girls but it was so well written that I was enthralled for the whole 500 pages. It is also being made into a movie to be released in November. I put a widget at the bottom of my blog containing movie facts etc. It is an incredibly dark novel about vampires, which usually isn't my thing but it's not the standard blood and gore you usually find with these types of novels. READ IT, now!

Writing Project

I volunteered to go this workshop called the Gateway Writing Project. It's through my school district and it is supposed to help us teach better writing skills to our students. Yesterday was the first class. I admit I had some mixed feelings about going, I mean mostly these types of things are really boring and just go over the same old tired techniques that everyone knows. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this workshop. The instructors made us write just like we make our students write and they connected writing to literature in a way that makes it seem interesting not the same old boring read a book and write about. Since I like to think of myself as a "good" writer as evident by this incredibly wonderful blog that I write ;) it was challenging to try to write some interesting and creative things to fit the goals of this class. Not sure why I am putting all this in my blog but it's my blog and so here it is.

Also, today is Wednesday and I am NOT weighing in for the biggest loser, Justin has a football game tonight and I have to meet Bob at the car dealer to sign the papers for our new truck. Besides it has been a terrible food week and I really don't WANT to know if I gained or lost. If I relent and do actually, secretly weigh myself and I actually really lose some pounds then I'll blog about it, if I don't then I won't. Hmmmm sometimes it's good to be your own author.

+ 1

I can't FREAKING believe it but I gained one pound this week. I mean I have to tell you that I have been really, really, good. I have eaten more fruit this week than in the entire month of August. On Tuesday I ate a pear, a cup of grapes, a bannana, a glass of o.j. and a raspberry yogurt. Good lord have I been in the bathroom a lot and still I gained 1 pound? HOW, HOW, HOW can this have happened?????

I have even started exercising 2-3 nights per week. I mean COME ON!

That scale is rigged, I must've had heavier clothes on, I was retaining water. ARG!

Hurricane Ike Damage in Affton

We live far, far, from any ocean but we still felt the damage from Hurricane Ike which made it's presence known here in Affton yesterday. It rained, no it poured, 4 inches in about a 3 hour period to be exact. We also experienced the gusty winds of over 30 mph. (the basement stayed dry, thank God for sump pumps)

Our local ballpark didn't fair so well. Hannah is playing fall softball at Affton Athletic Association. The same place she has played since kindergarten, the same place I played for about 12 years of my childhood. The same place that my dad was president of for about 5 years back in the day. It is not only a ball field but a hockey complex that is home to the award winning Affton Americans hockey club.

Here are some pictures of the damage. The storm got so bad that 18 people had to be rescued from the ice rink by the fire department. It swept away several cars in adjacent Gravois Creek which is normally a little trickle of water but surged up over it's 8 foot banks to flood the ice rink, 12 ball fields and concession stands.



Car floating down Gravois Creek

Flooded ball fields

Busted up concrete next to concession stand

As the rain came down


Needless to say, I think the season may be over.

- 4

Okay, to make friends at my new school, I joined the Biggest Loser club. Today was the first of our weekly weigh ins and I lost 4 lbs. I joined Weight Watchers online and I have been following the points system and trying to walk the track at the high school a couple nights a week. Not a bad start although I was hoping for more. I'll try to keep you updated on Wednesday.

Sick Day Part Deux

Yes, I took my second sick day Tuesday. Adam still wasn't feeling well enough to where I thought I could leave him with anyone but me or his dad. And since we both have new jobs, I had to do the duty again. He still had fever and sore throat and vomiting. Today, even though he didn't go back to school, I went back to work. And much to my surprise my classes were fine in my absence. In SLPS if you were lucky enough to get a sub they usually left the classroom totally messy and they hardly ever followed the lesson plans. Well these Mehlville subs were great they followed my plan even gave out extra assignments to keep kids busy. My room was still clean and things were still organized. I couldn't have asked for more!

Sick Time

I am taking my first official sick day today. It's a bit earlier than I would've liked but poor Adam has been sick all weekend. He kept saying he had a headache Friday night so I gave him some Tylenol. He didn't really mention it much Saturday morning but I was out running errands and didn't get much of chance to talk to him. Then Saturday night, Bob was working 3-11 and I was working part time at this restaurant that I used to work at before I became a teacher called the Fatted Calf. (I started working there about a month ago just one or two nights a week as a manager, basically to help out the new owners and because my friend Larry was working 55 hours a week and needed some time with his wife and new baby, plus it's a little extra grocery money. And I only work like 10 hours a week.) Any way when I left home at 3:30 he was fine when I returned home at 9pm he was running a 103 degree fever and my in laws who were baby sitting said he had been sleeping most of the evening and hadn't eaten anything. So I thought, FLU< great it's starting already.

So here I am on my first day off school, luckily as teachers we get 10 per year. Took Adam to the doctor and it is strep throat, not the FLU< thank goodness. He still has fever but I am hoping that antibiotics will hurry up and work so I can go to work tomorrow even though he will probably need to go to grandmas.

LAZY HAZY LAST DAZE OF SUMMER

To me Labor Day has always been the unofficial last day of summer. I'm sure this lingering heat will remind that summer isn't really officially over for a few more weeks but I am looking forward to fall. It's my favorite time of year.

You may be wondering how it's been going at school. Well, much to my surprise it continues to get better! My 3rd and 4th hour classes are fantastic! I would say my 4th hour is my somewhat excelerated class but the 3rd hour kids are all really nice and well behaved. My 5th hour class is the hardest. It's also the biggest with 32 kids and it is right before lunch. My 6th hour is talkative with like 4 boys who are class clowns but they aren't disrespectful like 5th hour. My 7th hour is a combined push in class with the resource teacher and it is challenging due to all the kids who receive special ed minutes. It is by far the class that I have to slow things down.

Justin has his first football game Wednesday night against Brentwood and he is super excited. I'm going to try to take some pics, although it's hard up in the stands.

This weekend is pretty lazy, no plans, just hanging out at home. Bob has to work all weekend and the rest of us don't have much going on. I'm happy about an extra day that I don't have to wake up at 5:30.

Another Baby Born

The last of my preggo friends/former co-workers has just delivered her baby. Andrea worked with me at Monroe 2 years ago but we first met way before that when she taught at Hope Lutheran and was the second grade teacher for both Justin and Hannah. She and her husband welcomed their daughter Jillian Mae a few days ago. All are well and Andrea is adjusting to life with a newborn and a toddler. (her son Nate is 2 1/2)

This marks the end of the last 5 month period when babies Bruno, Jane, Sophie, Ethan and Jillian were born. 2008, what a year to remember!

Congratulations to all!

Mom says "Update your blog!"

Here you go mom, it's updated for the week! I probably won't get another post up until next weekend. She emailed me some pictures of fun times at the lake from this summer so I thought I would go ahead and post some here. Some are actually from last summer but it's pretty much the same thing, boating and swimming. It's still our favorite place to go.


My crazy father tubing on the "hotdog"


Hannah, Adam and my niece Megan on the tube.


Swimming in the lake.

School Daze

It's been really hectic this last week with the kids starting school Monday, Bob starting his new job and me in my first full week of school. I have been totally exhausted! We had open house at my school Thursday night and except for leaving for an hour to grab some dinner I was at school from 6:45am till 7:30pm. What a long day!

Bob so far is enjoying his new department and the change of scenery. The kids liked school this week and seeing all their friends. Adam wished he could be home schooled so he didn't have to get up so early :)

But, for me it has been hard dealing with my change. I miss the familiar territory of my old school and I miss all the really great friends I had made. Although they have reported how crazy SLPS has been in it's first week, I still wonder if I have made the right decision. With 150 kids in my classes at Buerkle, there is a ton more grading. Plus I feel like I don't know anyone, I haven't even met the whole staff and only know about 1/3 of them by name. I do really like the two ladies that I team teach two of my classes with, one is the speech pathologist the other is a special ed teacher. Both are very young and enthusiastic and we have a good working relationship in the classroom. I also have been getting to know the woman next door who is new to Buerkle and has children about the same ages as mine. We have a lot in common and we have started to depend on each other for information when needed.

Justin is playing football and practicing two nights a week, Hannah is playing fall softball with practice once a week, pitching lessons once a week and double headers on weekends so we have been going non stop!

Baby Boom #2

In past posts, I blogged about all the friends that were preggers. Well now two have had their babies and I didn't even post about them. How terrible a friend am I?

So here goes.

Bridget and Drew from Texas had their daughter Sophie LeighAnn on July 22. Bridget is a good friend from college, Hannah's Godmother and my Godson, Luke's, mother. Mom and baby are doing wonderful. Sophie was kind of a big one at over 8lbs but from all the pics I've seen, definitely gorgeous.


Bridget, Sophie and big brother Luke


What a head of hair she has!


Our other friends, Larry and Kim, had their baby on August 18th. Ethan Alexander weighed just over 7lbs and has a spray of light brown hair. He is absolutely adorable! Ethan and Kim are doing fine, even though he was born via c-section. Larry reports that Ethan is nursing like a champ!

I have cell phone pics but they don't show up very well when I email them to myself and then download them to the blog so I'll wait till I get some good shots of him and do another post.

Too Busy to Blog

Been crazy busy this last week and have really been too busy to blog. But just a quick update before the stuff really hits the fan tomorrow when my new school starts.

Last week spent an entire week in new teacher orientation. BORING! I did get 3 days to set up my classroom which now has stuff in it, thank you very much. And it is brighter and cheerier than even I thought.

Then we went to the lake for our last little hurrah of summer. The last two days have been spent in the classroom/school preparing for our first day which is now tomorrow. YEAH>

Everyone was a little freaked out and unroganized today but not I, I have been the diligent teacher who has everything prepared. YEAH-RIGHT! No seriously, I am ready.

SO excuse me if I don't blog for a while but I do have some cool boating pics from the lake to get up sometime soon.

Another change 'round here

All summer long you have heard me go on about my job change. But I have yet to mention that Bob is also changing jobs. As most of you faithful readers know, he is a policeman in the city of Crestwood, a small suburb of St. Louis. He was hired as a dispatcher for them about 8 years ago and then they paid for him to go through the police academy and he has been on the road for 7 years now. Like most areas now, Crestwood is in a recession. Made all the more worse for them by the decline of the mall that has anchored the town and brought in the most revenue for the last 30 years. The mall was recently sold and big changes are in the works but it will take at least 2 years to see them come to fruition. That, coupled with Crestwood's aging population has also meant that although Crestwood has the lowest property tax in St. Louis County, they can't pass a tax increase. So needless to say although the salary has been adequate, no raises, not even cost of living raises have been given in 3 years. For the last year and half several long time, good officers, have left Crestwood for police work elsewhere. So we knew it was time to make a change. the question was where?

Well, Bob has accepted a position with the Kirkwood police department and will start on August 18th. Those of you familiar with Kirkwood know that it is actually right next to Crestwood, much larger and with several strip malls and large stores to help the tax base. However, Kirkwood has also been the scene of several incidents of violence against police officers. In the last 3 years, 3 officers have been killed in the line of duty. Two were killed just last February. So needless to say, we are all a bit apprehensive about this change. There is a much needed salary increase but with it comes more risk.

I am including links to articles about the two separate shootings that claimed the lives of three veteran Kirkwood officers. Sgt. Bill McEntee was killed July 5, 2005. Then last February, Sgt William Biggs, Officer Tom Ballman and several other Kirkwood city officials were gunned down at a City Council Meeting.

I ask that you keep Bob in your prayers as he begins this new chapter in his career and that you also keep the families of the three, brave, officers lost in the line of duty in your thoughts and prayers also.

My new classroom

I finally got to meet my new principal and some of the faculty of my new school and see my new classroom last week. The people are all very nice and I think I will fit right in. My only problem is my classroom. For all my complaining about St. Louis Public Schools, I did have a big, bright classroom. Well my one at Buerkle is small, windowless, and barren. I was really bummed, because although it is middle school I want it to be fun, bright and inviting for my students. So needless to say I have A LOT of work ahead of me. All that was in the room were student desk, a teacher desk 2 file cabinets, and a large locking cabinet with shelves. No teacher chair, extra table or book cases to be found and no, I repeat NO windows to the outside. The only window is a small one in the doorway. It can only be described as 70's architecture, need I say more?

I talked with the head custodian, a very nice woman named Polly, about at least getting a chairt to sit in and maybe a book case since I am teaching literature it would be nice for the books I have for students to be displayed. She told me she would scrounge up a chair and book case or two but couldn't guarantee the quality. I then asked one of the other teachers if we got a budget to spend in the beginning of the year on supplies and I was informed that no we did not get a budget. Supplies are ordered by department chairs and were placed last spring. BUM-MER! At my old school my principal would give us each a $500 budget that we could spend on supplies that would be ordered from catalogs. Unfortuntaly all of that stuff that I ordered the last few years then becomes property of St. Louis Public Schools, so I couldn't really take my good books shelf, steel stool, and moveable dry erase board with me.

Did I mention that my new classroom had a chalk board, UGH!

So if any of you teacher people out there have any cast offs you can throw my way, let me know! I will take any and all donations.

Vacation Pictures/Tales

I haven't really talked much about our vacation to Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks last week. So here goes. First off it was HOT! We were still in Missouri in July for gosh sakes so what did we expect. We started our trip off by stopping at Lamberts just outside of Springfield, MO. It is the Home of the Throwed Rolls. They literally throw hot rolls to you from across the room. It's a very homestyle place with rolls of paper towels on the table and servers walking around dishing out extra portions of what they call "pass arounds" which were fried potatoes, macaroni, black eyed peas, fried okra, and molasses for your rolls. (no it's not figure friendly) But needless to say it was a big hit with kids. At first they were a little scared to ask that a roll be thrown from way across the room but they really got into it as the meal progressed.

After that, we made our way to Branson and our hotel, the Grand Victorian. Lets just say the hotel was nothing to write home about. It was clean but very small, had and indoor and outdoor pool that were also really small and an absolutely terrible continental breakfast. But my kids didn't care they still swam and ate donuts from the breakfast. That evening we went to a new attraction called Branson Landing which is Branson's equivalent of Downtown Disney. Lots of shops and restaurants and ways to spend money. They do a have a Bass Pro shop which was fun with everyone getting t-shirts or hats in Adam's case. Justin bought himself a hunting knife and Adam enjoyed "riding" on all the ATV's parked all over the place.

The next day, we rode the Ducks, which are vehicles that go in land and water. This was probably my favorite part because I sat with Adam and this was something he really wanted to do and then when we got into Table Rock Lake, they let him drive. He was so cute up there.

Later that afternoon we went to Silver Dollar City at about 4:30 because if you go after three the next day is free. But we didn't' realize that the park closed at 7, so that didn't leave us a whole lot of time to do anything. But we rode some rides, ate funnel cakes (the whole reason to go to Silver Dollar City) and watched the glass blowing demo. Not too bad. I for one was pretty much done. But ofcourse we had to go back the next morning. So we did. Well it was HOT, I would guess the hottest day of the year so far. And Silver Dollar City is all black topped. Yeah, you can guess how miserable we were. We split up because Hannah suddenly decided that most of the rides made her stomach sick?!? So she and I went to a couple of shows, explored the overpriced craft areas and hung out in a super cold ice cream parlor while the boys rode all the water rides that got them completely soaked and miserable. At about 3pm we had all had enough. However this was Wednesday and we had already checked out of our hotel so there was no where to go and we had Dixie Stampede tickets for 5pm that night. So we did end up going back to the hotel during their tea time to eat cookies and go to the public restroom and just sit in the lobby where it was cool. Bob's parents who also went spent the day shopping because his mom isn't too good on her feet. (not sure how she did shopping with her knees but?) We met up with them at Dixie Stampede.

The Stampede was fun, I for one will never go again as I discovered that I must be allergic to either horses or hay because what I thought was me having a claustrophobic panic attack turned out to be an allergic reaction to something there. The food was pretty good and the show is like a rodeo with songs etc. But it's hard to clap and get into it while you are trying to also eat. Kids liked it though.

From there we drove to the Lake which took about 2 hours and didn't get there till after nine by which time we were all EXHAUSTED! We did they usual lake things like swim and shop and except for a mayonnaise incident that I won't mention here, it was fun. WHEW, can you tell how tired were where by Saturday when we came home?


(Justin enjoying a roll at Lamberts, his favorite part of the trip)


(Hannah at the Bass Pro on Branson Landing)


(Adam outside of Bass Pro on an ATV)

(Adam drives the Duck)

(Posing with our tour guide)

(The cop goes to Silver Dollar City Jail)


(everyone on the suspended bridge at SDC)


All in all we had a good time but Branson has become somewhat rundown since the times I went there as a kid. Plus there are no big name entertainers there anymore, just a bunch people I've never heard of. Bob and I both agreed that the next time we go to Branson and Silver Dollar City it will be with our grandchildren. (hopefully about 20 years from now)

Home, Home on the Range!!

Yep, we're home. Went to Branson and the Ozarks last week and had a pretty good time. Although it was HOT! Since returning on Saturday, we have been busy with a capital B. We've had two softball games, friends over for dinner and many phone calls and errands to run. WHEW! This is also a busy week. I am finally getting to meet the new principal at my school and meeting with the other 8th grade teachers. I start next week with new teacher orientation. YIKES! Yes, that means summer is O-V-E-R for me! But I'm excited about it. I have a few vacay pics (our camera was kind of on the fritz) that I will post and talk more about vacay soon. Just wanted to get some kind of update before people think I have fallen off the planet.

out of office reply

sorry this blogger is out of the office (er, I mean couch) all week long. don't you just hate it when you get that repsonse from an email? not sure why but I find it annoying. anyhow, I will be gone all week with the fam on vacay. not sure why I'm not capitalizing my sentences but I have seen lots of other blogs that do this but I don't know why they do it. come to think of it I really shouldn't be capitalizing my i's either so i guess i won't

WAIT! The teacher in me can't do that. In fact, I feel uncomfortable not capitalizing the title either. I mean that is like a 3rd grade skill, you capitalize the title of a story. DUH! So I guess I will just do the right thing. Like always! (oops that's not a complete sentence)

But to all my adoring public readers, check back next weekend for the vacay update.

passed

No it's not gas or anything crude like that, I passed my Praxis exam that I took in June. I got a 190 out of 200 which is like a 95%. So I guess I did allright. But all I can say is WHEW!! One less thing to worry about. So now all I have to do is apply for Middle School Language Arts Teacher Certification through the state of Missouri and send in my score and I will be able to add that to my resume and ofcourse guarantee my job at Mehlville. YEAH!

(Buerkle Middle School Mascot)

too cute for words

My friend Jacki had baby Jane in April and has since become quite active with blogging and posting pics for all to see. I came across this one on her blog and thought it was so cute that I just had to post it also. (with her approval ofcourse)

view the enitre album

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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