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!